Rebuild of Gaia
by Irish-Brigid
Summary: The sequel to The Difference One Life Makes is here! The job isn't over when the credits roll. Dealing with the fallout from saving the world and learning to live are stories in themselves. Updates Mondays.
1. Catching Up

_I'm back! I haven't actually finished writing this, but I'm close enough that I'm comfortable starting an upload schedule. Plus, I figure some nice reviews might motivate me to pick up the pace a bit._ **  
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 **Chapter 1 - Catching Up**

In the wastelands a little south of Midgar lay a blackened patch of ground. Not black like fertile earth, but as if it had been burned. Next to this scar within a scar a small graveyard had been dug. Each grave was marked with a metal bar engraved with the person's name, if it was known. Most of the graves remained unmarked.

That day, two of the marked graves had visitors. Aerith knelt in front of one, arranging a wreath of flowers around the metal bar then folding her hands over her heart.

"I brought you flowers from the church. I wish I'd had a chance to show you, since you probably never got to see them up north. I..." She folded over with tears in her eyes. "I'm so sorry! I know in my head that it isn't my fault, but... if I had done something different. If I hadn't let myself get hurt. If I had said something so you wouldn't have gotten involved... If so many people hadn't died..."

Zack saw her as he reached the graveyard. On his way, he stopped next to Cole. The boy stood with his head bowed, scratching at a spot near his right hip.

"Hey." Zack gripped Cole's shoulder gently. "You doing okay?"

"Better than Marie, I guess." Cole shrugged and hung his head a little further. "At least she died quickly."

Zack frowned. "Don't talk like that! It's been less than two weeks, we're bound to find a cure eventually."

"Yeah. Eventually."

Good enough for now. "You should head back to the church. Cloud probably needs rescuing."

That got a small chuckle out of Cole. "Sure. I'll see what I can do."

After making sure Cole was headed the right way, Zack went straight to Aerith. She'd calmed down a bit and most of her tears had dried, but she still shook like a leaf. Zack wrapped an arm around her and pulled her close.

"I heard from Reeve. He's done as much as he can getting homes set up for the refugees in Kalm and is planning a trip to Junon. I volunteered for bodyguard duty and thought you and Elmyra could come along."

Aerith sniffled. "That doesn't make sense. Wouldn't it be harder for you to protect more people?"

"Oh come on, the monsters between here and Junon are nothing. Besides, once we reach Junon I was thinking we could hop a boat and head to Costa Del Sol then down to Gongaga."

She looked up at him, confusion and anticipation warring on her face. "It seems a little strange to invite my mother on a romantic trip."

Zack laughed and pulled her up onto his lap. "Trust me, it's not strange at all."

*7*7*

The past week and a half had not been easy for either Nanaki or Kunsel. Nanaki in particular. They had barely come in sight of the gate when a couple locals rushed up and all but dragged Nanaki up into the caves. Kunsel wanted to follow but couldn't.

Well, he could, but it would have involved knocking out at least one villager and probably damaging a lot of property.

So Kunsel sat by Cosmo Candle to wait. As soon as Nanaki reappeared all his questions evaporated.

"I'm sorry."

Nanaki shook his head. "The sentiment is appreciated but unnecessary. Grandfather lived a long, good life and if not for you and the others I would not have been able to see him at..." He shuddered for a moment before clearing his throat. "He says he wants me to travel the planet, recording all life within my memory. It is a fitting task. After all, I may live another five hundred years or more. There is a lot to learn in that time."

"Sounds good." Kunsel nodded. "Want some company?"

Nanaki opened his mouth but seemed to change his mind and shook his head. "No. You have things to accomplish here. I will be all right."

"If you say so. When are you heading out?"

"In a few days. First, I wish to visit my father and... I must make arrangements for Grandfather."

Kunsel leaned forward so he could grip Nanaki's mane at the base of his neck. "If there's anything I can do to help, let me know."

"Thank you."

Under different circumstances Kunsel would have considered attending a traditional Cosmo Canyon funeral a great opportunity. It was still an honor, he just couldn't separate his emotions entirely. The next day, Nanaki tried to leave. When Kunsel went to the inn to eat supper he found Nanaki curled up under one of the busier tables.

"I thought you left this morning."

A big barrel of a man named Haru guffawed, thumping the table hard enough to make it jump. "He got scared and ran home! Our Nanaki may look fierce, but inside he's still a child."

If Nanaki's face could move that way he might have pouted. As it was, he simply turned his head. "I forgot something, that's all. When I got back I decided it would be best to try again tomorrow."

"Uh huh." Kunsel ordered his food then sat at a table across from Nanaki. "Where do you plan on heading to first?"

"Wutai. I thought I would start there and work my way east."

"Sounds good. When you get there you can call Yuffie and tell her how things are going."

At that, Nanaki seemed to smile. "That is a very good idea. I think I will."

A few hours later, after most of the villagers had gone to bed, Kunsel sat in one of the library's study rooms transcribing Dr. Gast's video research. Due to his level of focus on the task at hand, he didn't notice his visitor until the door closed behind him. The pattern of clicks could only belong to one person.

Kunsel glanced over his shoulder. "Hey, Nanaki. Can I help you with something?"

Nanaki shuffled for a moment before answering. "Ah, no. It's nothing. I shouldn't have bothered you."

"It's only a bother if you don't tell me why you came." Kunsel turned his chair all the way around. "So spill."

More hesitation, but eventually Nanaki shifted further away from the door. "This morning when I left... I looked back and couldn't see the village. It shouldn't have bothered me but I felt something dark well up inside. I couldn't move for a long time." He hung his head. "I don't know what it was or if it will appear again."

Kunsel shook his head. "That's called 'fear.' Considering what happened last time you left home, it's understandable."

"Then the others were right." Nanaki bowed his head until his nose almost touched the floor.

"In a way." Kunsel drummed his fingers on the desk for a few seconds. "I had a similar experience the first time I went into battle. Pretty sure the only reason I survived is because the monster thought I was a weird-looking rock."

Nanaki huffed. "It must have been a very stupid monster. You smell nothing like a rock."

"Uh, thanks." Kunsel resisted the urge to sniff his armpits.

"No, I should thank you. You are a very good human." Nanaki turned back toward the door.

"The offer to come with still stands."

Nanaki glanced over his shoulder. "It is appreciated, but if I am to conquer this fear I must face it on my own."

Though he doubted the wisdom of that approach, Kunsel didn't press the matter and Nanaki left the next day without incident.

The next Kunsel heard from Nanaki was three days later. Apparently the mystery illness they had seen in Midgar had made its way to Wutai. The one rumored to be the planet's wrath. The people of Wutai were in a panic trying to find who had brought the disease and were forbidding contact with any of the infected.

"I do not know if I should call Yuffie. She might be distressed at the news."

Kunsel thought for a moment. "It's your decision, but if you're asking what I would do, I'd call her. It's her home. Even if she can't do anything she'd probably appreciate knowing."

"I will consider your advice. How is your research progressing?"

"Still transcribing Gast's videos. I'm almost tempted to go back to Midgar just to grab a computer from the ShinRa building."

"There is something wrong with the computers available?"

"Well, no. I'm just used to processors that can keep up with my typing speed."

"Ah."

The conversation ended soon after that. Nanaki called a few more times with updates on the situation in Wutai, none of it good.

Kunsel wondered if he should try researching a cure. But how could he do that for something that had never been seen before? He was still questioning that when a line in the video he was playing caught his attention.

 _"The Cetra were attacked by the virus and went mad... transforming into monsters."_

Kunsel ran from the study room without even bothering to stop the video. Elder Hargo nearly fainted when an anxious SOLDIER suddenly appeared in front of him.

"Do you have any copies of Loveless?"

Elder Hargo managed to regain his breath. "The poem? Several. My teacher, Elder Unne was quite interested in the possibility that the story as we have it now is a translation from an Ancient epic. The missing fifth act..."

"That's fine. Where are they?"

"This way." Elder Hargo shook a bit as he led Kunsel through the stacks. He felt far too old to be dealing with whatever had this new student so flustered. "Is there a particular edition you were hoping for? We have at least one annotated volume, I believe."

"The annotated one would be great. Thanks." As soon as Kunsel had his hands on the book he disappeared.

Back in the study room he flipped through the second act as quickly as he could without damaging the pages until he found what looked like the right passage.

"'Be you nurse or warden in this forsaken place?'" Kunsel muttered and skipped ahead a bit. "'The land you seek to rule is dying. Fly now and all you shall meet is death. Stay and death may yet find you.' It's got to be after this point, I think. Here. 'Bleeding black, the beast cried its last. The woman sang a death wail for one once beloved.'"

It felt like a long shot, but if true... He might have preferred the planet being angry.

* * *

 _This story may have a slightly slow start, but I thought it important to establish where everyone is and how they're dealing with rebuilding the world. I also couldn't resist putting in some of my own theories about Loveless. Though some fans seem to assume that what's quoted in Crisis Core is all there is to the poem, I'm quite certain there's more to it than that. There kinda has to be._


	2. Female Emergency

**Chapter 2 - Female Emergency**

"It's about time!" Yuffie pounced on Aerith before she could even open the church door. "There's a mega-emergency that you need to help with _right now_!"

"Where? Wha-" Zack blinked at the tiny hands trying to push him back.

"Not you! Girls only! If you try to follow us I'll set Leviathan on you!"

Zack could only scratch the back of his head as Yuffie dragged Aerith away.

"Yuffie, what's wrong?"

"Hang on." Yuffie knocked on the door of a make-shift shack near the church. "Hey, Tifa! I got Aerith!" She didn't wait for an answer before opening the door.

Tifa sat at a low table fumbling with something under the back of her shirt. "Yuffie..." Tifa tried to smile apologetically while twisting around in her seat. "Sorry about this. It's just a broken bra strap."

"Of your last pair! Admit it, the monster goo is never coming out of your other one."

Aerith smiled and motioned for Tifa to take off her top. "We really need to take you shopping."

"Where? Kalm is still overwhelmed and everyone here is just trying to find their next meal."

"You better figure out something." Yuffie hopped onto a stool. "I might be able to get away with going commando, but those bazookas need shell casings."

Tifa turned bright pink.

Either oblivious to Tifa's distress or relishing in it, Yuffie continued. "Seriously, how do you keep from getting hit in the face with those jugs every time you run?"

Tifa crossed her arms over her bosom, earning her a sharp poke from Aerith's safety pin. "Ow!"

"Sorry! You moved." Aerith closed the pin. "That won't hold very long."

"As long as I can make it until tonight. Then I can get some laundry done."

Yuffie snorted. "And the bra goes boom!"

Tifa curled her arms around herself tighter as her face turned redder. "Yuffie!"

Aerith tried, and failed, to stifle a giggle. "Oh, she's just jealous. Yesterday Mrs. Valji complimented Yuffie on being such a bright young man."

Yuffie nearly fell off her stool. "Ah! I! That old bat is half blind! There's no way I look like a boy!"

"Hmm. I don't know." Tifa tapped her cheek in thought. "I think you might be about the same size as Owain. If you borrowed some of his clothes..."

"I am not dressing like a boy!" Yuffie jumped up. Her frown deepened. "Oh, I get it. Fine. You don't tease me about my figure and I won't tease Tifa about her boobzillas."

Aerith put on an innocent smile. "Deal."

*7*7*

The time spent traveling with everyone had taught Zack several things. One of them was that he did not want any involvement in female-only emergencies. So he opened the door to the church and found himself confronted with another kind of emergency.

"Daddy can beat anybody!"

"Zack and Cloud were in SOLDIER! They're way stronger than anyone!"

"I'm not..." Cloud looked more than a little lost as Marlene and one of the orphan boys continued to argue.

By this time the arguing children noticed Zack and rushed him.

"Zack! Tell her!"

"You've fought with Daddy! You know he's the best!"

Zack held up his hands in defense. "Hey, there's more to winning a fight than just strength."

The boy frowned. "But you are stronger than him, right?"

"Uh..." Zack rubbed the back of his head. "Yeah. But he's way better at being scary than I am. And, uh..." He faltered, seeing that Marlene still looked hurt. "He's not afraid of anything, except maybe climbing since he only has one hand. That's a kind of strength, too. Hey, I have an idea." He led the kids to where the rest were. Raising his voice, he brought every kid in the church around him. "If you could have any kind of house, what would you want?"

"What do you mean?"

"Are we getting a house?"

"Can it be like Miss Elmyra's?"

"I want my own room!"

"A watch tower!"

"And secret passages!"

"And alarms so no one can sneak up on us!"

"We should booby trap the front door so anyone we don't want gets dropped into a dungeon!"

"Whoa!" Zack found himself putting his hands up as a shield again. "I'm talking about a house, not a fort. Besides, this place might not get built."

One of the younger boys, Thorn, jumped up. "But secret passages are cool!"

Owain, a boy about Yuffie's age, nodded. "What about monsters? We have to defend our home and have a way to escape."

"Is it going to be close by?" A girl maybe a couple years older than Marlene hugged her little brother. "I like playing here."

Little Eiko waved one of her hands in the air. "Maybe we could dig tunnels from our house to Miss Elmyra's, then we can go there for cookies whenever we want."

That got the kids into a discussion of the various uses for secret tunnels. Zack sank to the floor next to Cloud, looking around for Cole. He spotted the boy curled up behind a pillar gripping his right leg.

"I thought this was one of his good days." Zack rubbed his face before smiling apologetically at Cloud. "Maybe I shouldn't have said anything about a house."

"Why did you ask that?"

Zack shrugged. "I thought it'd be nice to have a real house for everyone. Not just a bunch of make-shift shacks scattered around the church. And running water. That way we wouldn't have to go to Elmyra's every day."

"Barret doesn't seem to mind. But I see your point. Right now, maybe it would be better to focus on reliable shelter."

"Yeah. I don't even know how to build a house. I can probably ask Reeve about that, though. He hired me as a bodyguard for a few days. Oh! Don't tell Aerith about the house, I want it to be a surprise."

*7*7*

That evening at dinner Aerith noticed that Tifa smiled too much. More to the point, her smiles were stiff and she avoided looking in Cloud's direction. So after everyone finished eating and they'd collected what passed for dishes, Aerith pulled Tifa aside.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing. Nothing at all."

"Hmm." Aerith stood for a moment with one finger tapping her chin. "No, not buying it. Is it something with Cloud?"

Tifa sighed. "You could say that. I told him that Yuffie and I were going with you to Junon and he just looked at me and said, 'okay.' That's it."

"And what's wrong with that? Unless you were hoping he'd insist you stay?"

"Or come with or... I don't know. I'm being selfish. He's been keeping himself so busy lately and I want to spend more time with him." Tifa hugged herself and looked away.

"I don't..." Something crashed followed by Barret and Yuffie yelling. "Ah, well, I think the others can handle whatever that was. Now, maybe wanting to spend more time with Cloud is selfish, but it's a good kind of selfish." Aerith giggled. "I'd be more worried if you _didn't_ want to spend more time with him."

"But if he doesn't want to spend time with me..."

"I can't imagine he wouldn't." Aerith looked thoughtful for a moment. "On the other hand..." Two little voices interrupted her.

"Flower lady!"

"Miss Aerith!"

Aerith smiled. "Looks like they need my help after all. Don't worry. I think the problem will solve itself once we find you a top that's a little less threadbare."

Tifa turned bright red as Aerith left to deal with whatever catastrophe the kids had found themselves in.

* * *

 _Yuffie grew up in or near military camps. I figure she picked up a lot of bad habits. (If Tifa is the party leader when you recruit her, Yuffie calls Tifa 'Boobs.') I've also wondered how someone as, ah, 'gifted' as Tifa can run around saving the planet without experiencing some serious wardrobe malfunctions. Titanium undergarments?_


	3. On The Way

**Chapter 3 - On the Way**

The day before the weekend, Reeve arrived at the gate to Sector 5 in an old steam truck. Yuffie blanched at the sight of the monstrous clunker churning out smoke.

"I, uh, maybe I should stay here."

"As if Cloud and Barret won't have their hands full enough as it is." Tifa nudged Yuffie forward. "You'll have to learn how to deal with your motion sickness eventually."

"Avoidance sounds good to me."

Elmyra set a guiding hand on Yuffie's shoulder. "We'll make sure you sit near the front. It should be less bouncy that way."

Reeve smiled as he offered a hand up to each of the ladies in turn. "Such lovely bodyguards. I may have to give Zack lessons in negotiation. He's obviously undercharging for his services."

Zack laughed. "Actually, the girls want to do some shopping in Junon. So we're providing protection and you're providing the ride."

"I see. Perhaps I underestimated your business sense."

Aerith sat at the front of the flatbed with Yuffie and her mom, rubbing the little ninja's back. "Where did you find such an old truck?"

"One of the farmers across the river from Kalm." Reeve gestured to the two men in the cabin. "He doesn't trust 'new fangled' technology. You can imagine how smug he was when all the reactors went offline."

"Urrg. See how smug he is... when I barf all over his stinky engine of death."

Zack stifled a laugh and turned to Reeve. "So what's this meeting in Junon for?"

"That's what I'm going to find out. A Corporal Kylegate is attempting to mobilize the army there and I've heard that he has plans to rebuild Midgar. I want to verify my information and find out if it's possible to work with him."

"As long as he's planning to do it without mako, that sounds great."

Reeve didn't look convinced. "There are other concerns. Midgar is not an ideal location for a city, geographically. The site was originally chosen because of the large mako deposits. Considering that all food will have to be imported for the next few decades, at least, there isn't much reason for people to want to live there."

Aerith looked up at Reeve. "But there are already so many people living there. Where would they all go?"

"That's a very good question. I wish I had an answer." Reeve sighed as he ran a hand through his hair. "For now there aren't many places they can go. Too many people believe this new disease to be contagious."

"But it's not." Zack swept a hand out to indicate everyone present. "We've all been around people with the disease and none of us have gotten sick."

"We don't know enough about this disease for that to be a convincing argument. How long does it take for symptoms to show? How does it get past the immune system? Most importantly, if it isn't contagious then how is it spreading?"

"The Lifestream." Aerith stopped rubbing Yuffie's back to fold her hands in her lap. "I felt something around the refugee camp where the Lifestream burst out. It's the same dark feeling that surrounds the people with the illness."

"The Lifestream?" Reeve looked from Aerith to Zack to Tifa and even Elmyra with rising horror. "Then this is the planet's will?"

Aerith glanced at her mom before answering. "No. It's more as if the planet is sick. Every time someone with the illness dies the infected part of the Lifestream gets stronger."

Reeve turned to Zack, looking almost accusatory. "How long have you known this?"

"A couple days." Zack shrugged. "Aerith didn't want to tell anyone until she was sure."

"I still wouldn't be if..." Aerith picked at the hem of her dress. Elmyra wrapped an arm around her adopted daughter.

The flatbed fell silent as all except Reeve remembered the young woman and child who came stumbling into the church two days ago. Her son screamed for hours after her death.

*7*7*

Cloud wished Tifa had stayed. He hadn't said anything, of course, he wanted her to take a well deserved break, but he also had no idea what he was supposed to do.

Elmyra had written instructions for meals on a bright orange, impossible to miss, sheet of paper and left it on the dining table.

It was now being used in a game of capture the flag.

By the time Cloud found it and got it away from the kids the only legible words were 'icebox' and 'heat.'

The kids didn't make things any easier.

"I'm hungry!"

"I want cake!"

"Cookies!"

"Alan pooped in the garden!"

"I'll set the-"

Crash!

"Out!"

The kids froze, hardly daring to breath. Cloud rubbed his face with one hand and took a deep breath.

"Outside. Please. Go... see if Barret's done with that space heater."

Cloud took a few seconds to let the relative silence sink in before opening the fridge. Most of the food didn't need to be kept very cool. They had set the temperature as high as they could to use as little of the backup power as possible.

Unfortunately, knowing that didn't help Cloud identify any of the food.

He had just finished rummaging through the cupboards when Barret burst in.

"Hey! Marlene said you's bein' all scary in here. Wha' gives?"

"Can you cook?"

"Can I...? 'Course I can cook! Y've had my cookin'! Wha's that gotta do wi' anythin'?"

Cloud just pointed to the tattered remnant of paper on the dining table.

"Eh? Wha's this?" Barret squinted at the paper then turned to Cloud. "Oh, ya gotta be $#*& me."

No response, so Barret headed for the fridge. He opened it, closed it right away, opened it again, and swore. Cloud just stood as Barret rounded on him with a glare. "Wha'd you do?"

"What?"

"Light's off. Did ya let the kids plug somethin' in?"

"Let them?" Cloud returned Barret's glare and marched to the fridge. With his eyes closed he pressed an ear to the door. He could hear ice cracking, the little shifts of wood as the house settled, but not the motor. Absent, too, was the constant buzz of electricity in the wires.

"I... think I might have left the door open a little too long."

Barret rumbled. "Guess we're havin' sandwiches, then. Dunno wha' we'll do 'bout supper if the power don't come on by then."

"Couldn't we make a fire?"

"Out'a what? Most'a the wood down here ain't good buildin', never mind burnin'."

Cloud turned to the door. "Watch the kids for a while. I'm going to look for something we can use."

*7*7*

Gaskin ran something that could be called a salvage operation or a minimalist mortuary depending on how you looked at it. The man himself stood almost as tall as Barret but not quite as wide. He also seemed much more prone to laughing. That booming sound currently assaulted Cloud as he waited for an answer to what he had thought was a simple question.

"How many people do you think come through here with camping supplies? Most of the poor idiots barely have more than the clothes on their backs. 'Sides that, there've been fewer people coming down from the plate. If you want something like that you'll probably have to go up there. Might even get some help. Just a few hours ago a guy came by looking for pipes. Seems some group is trying to build a town or something."

Cloud nodded thanks, planning to leave right away. At that moment, though, he noticed several children digging through a pile of scrap.

"There's a church in Sector 5 where my friends are taking care of kids. If anyone here is interested..."

"I'll let 'em know."

Unknown to Cloud, several of the kids had seen him, too. The boys in particular stared at his uniform and the large sword he carried.

* * *

 _Lots of On The Way To A Smile references here. I don't know if Nojima-san has ever seen an actual steam truck, but I'm going to disregard his description because I_ _ **have**_ _. It does not take four men to run one of those things. In fact, the ones I've seen (which, admittedly, were intended for farm use) barely had room for two men in the driving compartment. The things one learns growing up in a rural community._

 _Bonus points to anyone who can identify the sources of the children's names._

 _Oh. And for anyone who might be reading both, I named Alan (the boy who pooped in the garden) well before either of the Nibelheim children in Mystwalker's Another Side had names. This is purely coincidental, though the reasoning behind the decision is similar. Alan is a very normal-sounding name, after all._


	4. City Planning

**Chapter 4 - City Planning**

The train tracks came up to plate level between Sector 6 and Sector 5 near the warehouse districts for both. It didn't take long for Cloud to verify at least part of what Gaskin had said. Men, women, and children milled about near the gate to one of ShinRa's warehouses.

Cloud walked toward them, intending to ask about a camp stove. Then he started to catch snatches of conversation. Something about a pass-code not working and a new city. They didn't look dangerous, but even so, Cloud took a little extra caution while approaching them.

"What's going on?"

Several pairs of eyes stared at him in something uncomfortably close to awe and fear.

"Are you SOLDIER?"

"We just want supplies to build a new town."

A new town? It made sense, in a way. Midgar wasn't the healthiest place to live and the nearby towns were overwhelmed with refugees. Cloud shook his head. "I'm not with ShinRa. I just want to find a camp stove."

Some of the adults whispered to each other apparently unaware that Cloud could hear every word. They had a few, but none they thought could be spared. But they did want his help.

One of the men stepped forward. "There might be something you can use in the warehouse. If you help us, you can have anything of that sort that you find."

Cloud nodded and let them lead him to the gate. Despite what he had told them, they still apparently expected him to know the code to get in. Instead, he gripped the heavy latch and pulled. Metal screamed. The latch crumpled in his fist, exposing the section of metal hook that remained in the strike plate. Another pull ripped the hook and most of the strike plate out of the door jam.

He tried to ignore how the staring intensified.

Half an hour into searching the warehouse, some of the people started to feel more at ease around him. Mostly the kids. One girl who looked like she was about fourteen started following him around. She didn't seem all that comfortable with him, though, because every time he looked back at her she dived behind a crate.

Shaking his head, he went back to searching. The closest he could find was a blowtorch. At least it was a fire source that wasn't rotten or smelling of gasoline. Cloud sniffed. Speaking of gasoline...

Near the back of the warehouse he found several barrels of the stuff. At first he didn't know why there would be so much. The memory came slowly, emergency fuel that tended to clog up standard mako engines. Despite the problems, something like that would be critical for rebuilding in a world without mako reactors.

He looked back at the people wandering between crates. They didn't seem particularly organized. With limited fuel would they be able to ration it effectively? Did they have someone who even knew how to use it? He decided to leave the gasoline alone for now. He'd tell Reeve about it when he came through in a few days.

The warehouse seemed to be for general building and maintenance supplies. Besides the blow torch and gasoline, he also found 2-ton spools of electrical wire, several different types of pipes, cement mix, drywall in various thicknesses, and ceramic wash basins among many other things. The last seemed potentially useful for his purposes, so he took one.

He'd just added a large vent grate and some bolts to his collection when the girl appeared again. This time she actually walked up and tried to speak. After a lot of hesitating and stammering she finally got a full sentence out.

"I thought, since you're looking for a stove, you might need food, too. There's a mess tent at the construction site. If you help carry stuff there you could... get a meal?"

Cloud thought about it for a moment. Even if he left now he'd still need time to put all the parts together and hope it actually worked. Chances were the kids, and he, would need food long before that.

Though there wasn't any guarantee that the people in charge would be willing to provide meals for a dozen extra people.

"I'll help."

*7*7*

Elmyra poured a little soup into the cup of her thermos and held it out to Yuffie. "Come, dear, at least drink the broth. It'll be worse if there's nothing in your stomach."

"Get that any closer and I'll... oooog... What?"

The truck still vibrated under them, but forward progress had stopped.

"Are we there? Thank the gods!" Yuffie all but dived head first over the side of the cargo bed.

Zack frowned, his hand on his sword. "That can't be right. We're still in the mountains."

"Quite." Reeve crouch-stepped toward the front of the truck. "I'll ask the driver what the problem is." He almost asked that someone retrieve Yuffie, but he saw that Tifa and Aerith were already on that.

The engineer met Reeve at the back of the cabin. "Sorry 'bout this. There's been a rockslide. We can clear it, but it'll take time."

"Let me see." Zack hopped onto the top of the cabin just to the right of the smoke stack. He grinned down at Reeve. "Guess you needed a grader more than a bodyguard."

Yuffie turned into a ragdoll in Tifa's arms at the sight of Zack tossing boulders aside. "Oh come on! Can't we get a break? I'm gonna _die_ before we get anywhere near Junon!"

Aerith shook her head. "I never heard of anyone dying from motion sickness. Now at least get up off the road. Even Zack will need a few minutes to clear a path and maybe by the time he's done you'll be asleep."

The only response she got was a long, tired groan.

Elmyra noticed Reeve take out a small notebook and start writing in it with an intense expression. She leaned a little closer, hoping to discreetly get a look, but Reeve turned to look at her.

"Sorry. I just wondered what you were doing."

Reeve's mouth twitched into a small smile. "It's something of a to-do list. If we're going to rebuild the world we need safe, passable roads between towns. That may have to come after setting up new utility systems, though."

"Running water that I don't have to pump myself would be nice. Though with Zack and everyone else around it isn't so much of a bother."

"All of which depends heavily on Cid's work on alternative fuel sources. Oh, that reminds me." He turned his attention back to the notebook. "I have to speak with the dean of archeology at Junon University. Apparently the oil field Cid wants to get in working order again sits partially on one of the department's sites of interest."

Elmyra rolled her eyes. "You'd think basic necessities would take precedence over some old ruins."

"To many scholars, they're one and the same. It will take careful handling to get the necessary permission." Reeve chuckled. "Which is why I'm talking to the dean and not Cid. While he has many good qualities, I'm afraid diplomacy isn't one of them."

"Talking about me?" Zack vaulted over the side of the truck bed and settled next to Aerith.

Aerith giggled. "No, someone else who's a poor diplomat."

"That doesn't narrow it down. Anyway, road's clear now, so we should be moving pretty soon."

Yuffie groaned, her head buried in Aerith's lap. "Just kill me now and get it over with."

"Hmm. I think I may have something else that can help." Aerith poked Yuffie into shifting her position. "There, now close your eyes."

"What're you gonna do?"

Aerith put her hands on either side of Yuffie's face. "You'll see."

*7*7*

Yuffie opened her eyes in a white world surrounded by Aerith's flowers. She jumped up, unaware that she missed Aerith's nose by fractions of an inch. "Whoa! This is that mind meld thing you can do, right?"

Aerith laughed as she dusted off her skirt, even though there wasn't really any dirt here. "Well, that's one way to describe it." She looked around at the edge of her field for Yuffie's flowers. She finally found tiny white dots surrounded by the fluffy foliage of Wutanese parsley fighting for visibility in the void.

It soon became apparent that even in her mind, Yuffie couldn't stay still. She marched in circles with her arms either waving at her sides or stuck to her tiny hips much like Zack's heroic pose.

"Gotta say, this is the weirdest motion sickness cure I've ever seen. But, hey, if it works it works! So, what do we do now?"

"Hmm. Usually we just talk."

"Boooring! I've never been in someone else's head before. There's gotta be more here than just flowers, right? Come on!"

Aerith suddenly had the feeling that this may not have been the best idea.

*7*7*

It felt good, being useful, moving, using his unnatural strength for something other than killing monsters. Especially since Cloud had been finding it harder and harder to find monsters to kill. Between him and Zack, the area from the church to Aerith's house was safer than it had probably been in decades. Barret helped a little, but only Cloud and Zack woke before the sun to hunt monsters. Barret slept like the dead.

But this was building something. Or at least getting the supplies so that building could start. Eventually the other volunteers stopped staring at him and started adding more things to the pile he was supposed to carry. By the time they left the warehouse, Cloud couldn't see where he was going. The girl who had first asked him to carry things gave him directions.

He knew they were taking advantage of him, at least a little, but he didn't mind. Walking from the Sector 5 warehouse to the wastelands just past Reactor 3 with a few hundred pounds of supplies took effort. Maybe if he had time, he'd offer to make a few more trips and try to wear himself out. The idea of going to bed tired for a change appealed to him.

Even with all the crates and bundles blocking his face he could feel people staring at him again. They must have arrived at the construction site.

"You can put everything down now."

He did as instructed, and now that he could see he noticed that one of the people staring was the girl who'd been leading him. Not staring, exactly, she had the oddest expression that he couldn't quite identify but it reminded him of that girl from Junon, Priscilla.

"So... about the food."

The girl blinked several times as if she'd been asleep. "What? Oh. Right. This way." She led him to a large open-air kitchen and mess hall marked out by a canvas tent cover. He hadn't even looked in that direction before since that's where most of the stares seemed to be coming from. "My name's Luca, by the way."

"Cloud."

He didn't noticed the beaming grin she pointed at him as his focus turned to a tall, thin man in an apron that might have been white in another life. The man himself looked more like a bookkeeper than a cook and, from the way he squinted as if used to looking at people over the top of reading classes, Cloud guessed he'd been something like that before Meteor Fall.

"You're new."

"Looking for food."

"He helped us at the warehouse." Luca waved an arm at the huge pile they had just left. "He was looking for parts for a camp stove or something and I thought he could get a meal here."

The cook nodded. "I saw that hardware store with legs coming down the road. He's more than earned a meal."

"How much more?" Cloud regretted the way he said that as soon as it came out. "I... I'm helping take care of some kids. We have food but nothing to cook it with."

The cook scratched his nose, definitely used to having glasses on. "We've got a spare cooker you can have. It'd be in use but somebody," he glared at one of the bulkier men helping himself to some sort of noodle dish, "keeps forgetting to fix it. Since you were planning on making your own cooker anyway and we're doing fine without it, I suppose I don't see the harm in giving it to you as payment. First, though, you better get in line before all the food's gone."

Somewhere between there and actually getting to eat, Cloud ended up hired for more heavy-lifting jobs. It had all happened too quickly and he had been too hungry to pay much attention to how. He thought, however, that Luca had been the instigator.

* * *

 _Who needs heavy machinery when you have Cloud, right? Well, he might want to use a handcart or something next time so he can see where he's going. On a completely unrelated topic, Aerith might want to reconsider that cure for motion sickness she came up with. I know_ _ **I**_ _wouldn't want Yuffie tearing through my head._


	5. Domestic

_I am so sorry this is late! I completely zoned on what day it was._

* * *

 **Chapter 5 - Domestic**

"So I was thinking, materia is made from the Lifestream, so maybe there's some out there that can cure geostigma." Yuffie danced in front of everyone, happy to be away from the steam truck even if she had slept through most of the ride.

Aerith leaned heavily against Zack. "Yuffie, I told you before, that's... never mind." She turned toward Reeve as he seemed ready to leave them. "Good luck."

"Thank you. Enjoy yourselves."

As soon as Reeve disappeared around a corner, Zack allowed himself to look more concerned at Aerith. "You sure we shouldn't find an inn first?"

"I'll be fine, really. Sharing a mind with Yuffie is just a little exhausting, that's all." She smiled up at him, her eyes half closed. "Unless there's some other reason you want a room."

A terrifying presence made Zack swallow whatever he had thought of saying. Elmyra smiled at him. "I'm sure you're just concerned about my daughter's health. Now, where should we start shopping?"

"Hey!" Yuffie stamped her feet. "Are you guys ignoring me?"

Aerith giggled. "Maybe a little. Hmm. I think the first thing we should do is get Tifa's items." She rested her chin on the tips of her fingers, sending a cold chill down Zack's spine. "We'll need someone to carry everything, too."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Zack backed up, holding his arms up in defense. "I am _not_ shopping for underwear with you."

"Of course not. You're just there to carry our packages."

"That's right!" Yuffie stretched herself up to the full extent of her diminuative height. "We're ladies so it's your duty to do all the lifting for us!"

Elmyra covered her mouth to hide a smile. "If it makes you feel any better, you don't have to come in the stores."

Zack grimmaced. "Yeah, I'll just hang outside like a creeper."

By this time, Tifa had managed to find her voice after the mention of underwear. "I'm sure anyone who sees you will understand."

Grumbling and doing his best to look pathetic, Zack lead the way to one of Junon's shopping districts. They only got a few blocks before Zack's phone buzzed.

"Hey. Zack here."

 _"Hi, it's Kunsel. You're in Junon right now, right?"_

"Man, how do you _do_ that?"

Kunsel laughed. _"You'd love to know, wouldn't you? I know you're supposed to be having fun, but I got a favor to ask. There's an ex-SOLDIER running an accessory store there who I've been trying to contact."_

"So you want me to find him for you?"

 _"Yeah. When you have time."_

"Dude, you're a life saver! Seriously!" Zack's grin nearly split his face in half. "Sorry, ladies. Duty calls. Pretty sure there's a mall or something down that way." He ran off before anyone had a chance to call him out on ditching them.

*7*7*

"Where the hell you been?!"

Cloud offered the camp stove to Barret as a peace offering and tried to ignore the giggles as one of the children compared them to a married couple. "It needs to be fixed, but..."

Balancing the stove on his left hand, Barret gave it a thorough surface inspection. "Looks like a pretty standard model. Findin' parts shouldn' be a problem."

"Hmm. I'll ask about parts when I go back tomorrow."

"Back where?"

"Sector 4 warehouse."

Barret set the stove down and glared at Cloud. "Ya gonna tell me why?"

"I'm helping build a new town."

"Y're s'posed to be helpin' watch the kids. Wha'm I s'posed to do? Lock 'em up in the house all day?"

Cloud shrugged. The idea of the kids needing someone to actually watch them hadn't occurred to him. His childhood, what he could remember of it, had been largely unsupervised. True, the slums were probably more dangerous than Nibelheim, but a lot of the kids here grew up in the slums. They knew how to stay out of trouble.

Barret continued to glare for a moment before throwing his hand and gun in the air. "Fine! Do wha'ever ya want! Jes' remember tha' Tifa and Aerith trusted us wi' these kids!"

Now that was low. Cloud hung his head and clenched his fists. He hadn't intended to promise the people at the new town anything, it just happened.

"What do you need?"

Barret leaned forward. "Eh? Wha's that?"

"You need parts to fix the stove, right? Tell me what you need and I'll get them tomorrow."

"Hmph. Okay. You take the kids on back to the church an' I'll see wha' needs doin' wi' the stove. Jes' don' figure ya can disappear whenever ya feel like it."

Cloud didn't have much of a chance to respond as he found himself mobbed from the waist down. It seemed all the younger kids wanted to play something different with him. Feeling more than a little dizzy, he let himself be led back toward the church.

*7*7*

The accessory shop Zack was looking for turned out to be on the top floor of one of the shabbier buildings near the docks. The sign on the door indicated that it should have been open. Instead, he found the place locked and shuttered.

"You looking for Bertram?"

Zack leaned back to look down the stairs. One of the girls from the shop below smiled up at him.

"Yeah. You know when he'll be back?"

She shrugged. "He's been gone three days at least. It's weird, 'cause I was sure he lived there. He'd been acting strange before that, too. About the time Meteor appeared he started wearing all black and saying that he felt like there was someplace he had to go but didn't know where that was. Maybe he finally figured it out."

"Right." Zack took a deep breath and that's when he noticed it.

Rot.

One kick and the door shattered all over the shop floor.

"Hey! What're you... Oh gods."

A puddle of black ooze seeped out from behind the counter. Zack covered his nose and mouth as he stepped inside. Not that there was much else to see. Bertram's body had long since dissolved into pyreflies.

"Oh gods. Oh gods! I _work_ under that! What if it starts dripping through the ceiling? And where's the body? Is that what happens to people who die from this? Oh GODS! I don't want to die! I can't turn into a puddle of goo! Claire! Adel! Oh gods. Someone _do_ something!"

Her rising panic faded with distance as she bolted down the stairs. Zack left the shop soon after, wanting nothing more than to get some fresh air. Or what passed for it in Junon. Whatever he did, it had to involve calling Kunsel to let him know his contact was dead.

Before he could steel himself for the task, his phone vibrated in his pocket.

"Zack here."

 _"Hi, Zack."_ Aerith, and while her voice was cheerful on the surface it had an edge that Zack didn't like. _"The department store we found has a sale on swimsuits. I'd ask you to tell me what you think of them, but it seems you aren't here."_

"Aerith, this really isn't a good time."

She didn't respond for a few moments. Long enough for Zack to wonder if they'd been disconnected.

 _"What happened?"_

"I found another victim of geostigma. A SOLDIER."

 _"Oh, Zack. Is there anything I can do?"_

"Just keep doing what you were doing. I'll find us a place to stay and meet up with you later."

* * *

 _Junon is the name of a lot of French ships. Claire is a French name. I couldn't resist._

 _So our characters still have to get used to normal life. Or as close to normal as is possible for this bunch. Shopping, working, dealing with kids... That last part may prove a greater challenge than fighting Sephiroth._


	6. Security

_I'm so sorry this is late! I need to keep better track of what day it is. And remember that I'm updating a story again. Oh dear._

 **Chapter 6 - Security**

Despite the day's activities, Cloud slept lightly. Sometime around midnight, a noise at the door to his hut woke him enough so his reflexes reached for his sword. A moment later, the rest of him awoke enough to analyze the sound. Something small and shuffling. Probably not a hedgehog pie, those bounced too much.

A small body clung to the edge of his blanket. "Umm?"

One of the kids. Cloud frowned. "What's wrong?"

"I... I was wondering if I could sleep with you."

His frown deepened. "Why?"

The kid twisted the blanket in her hands. By now Cloud's eyes had adjusted and he could identify his visitor as Nelly. "I'm scared."

Cloud reached over with his left hand to pull the blanket up. At this point he also realized that he was still holding his sword. He managed to prop it against the block of concrete holding back the wall of trash while making room for Nelly.

She curled up under his arm, her head tucked into his shoulder and one hand fisted into his shirt. It felt strange and oddly comfortable.

*7*7*

"Daddy! Daddy! Daddy!"

Barret made several noises more appropriate to a dog with a breathing problem before finally collecting his senses. "Marlene? Wha'sa ma'er?"

"Cloud's gone! I went outside and he wasn't there!"

"Mebbe he's sleepin'. Like I was tryin' to."

Marlene shook her head hard enough to lift her hair into a ring around her head. "Cloud's _always_ up now. He and Zack play-fight and see who can squat the most and hunt monsters and all sorts of things before breakfast. But he's not outside now and it's almost morning time. Daddy! What if something happened to him?"

"Cloud can take care of himself." Barret rubbed his human hand over his face, wanting nothing more than to go back to sleep. But for his little girl he sat up. "Fine. Le's find the spiky assed ba- bum."

"Daddy, you were going to call Cloud a bastard. That's not nice!"

He sighed. "I know, sweetie. Le's jes' get this over with."

Thankfully for all involved, Barret thought to check the hole in the wall that Cloud had claimed as sleeping quarters. Not so thankfully for Cloud, Barret found the scene inside hilarious.

At some point in the night, every one of the children under the age of ten (besides, of course, Marlene) had found their way onto Cloud's mat. Now all Cloud could do was blink owlishly from under a tangled blanket of tiny limbs.

"Daddy! Quiet!" Marlene tugged on Barret's pant leg, completely failing to either reduce her adopted father's laughing bellows or keep her own volume under control.

"Uuuhhh. What smells like feet?" Amy's answer came when Thorn kicked her in the face.

Of course, Amy yelled, which woke up Alan. Alan started crying, which woke up everyone else. Everyone else got in each other's way trying to untangle themselves. For once, Cloud was rather grateful for the modifications done to his body. If he had normal muscle density, he suspected that the numerous knees, elbows, and other body parts jabbing into his stomach would have hurt.

Eventually, the kids managed to stop squirming at random and at least one of the older kids got Alan to stop crying and keep him from getting trampled. Cloud sat up and the kids ran (or were carried) out the door chattering about breakfast. By this time, Barret had started breathing normally.

"See, Marlene. Nothin' to worry 'bout. Never would'a fig'red ya'd get pinned by a bunch'a munchkins."

Cloud glowered at Barret. "I didn't want to wake them."

"I think it's cute!" Marlene nodded for emphasis. "Oh! We gotta wake up Owen and Cole and... and Lynnet! And Ran!" She counted the older kids off on her fingers. "Then we can eat together! Daddy! Go make breakfast!"

"I'm goin'. I'm goin'. Y're gonna make one hell of a wife one day." He continued to mutter about how fast kids grow up as he lumbered off in the direction of Elmyra's house.

Marlene looked at Cloud like she expected him to come with her. He ducked out of the alleged doorway and she grabbed his hand.

Halfway to Cole's room, Cloud remembered what he and Barret had argued about earlier. "Marlene, do you think the kids need someone to watch them?"

She stopped and stared up at him as if trying to get the answer out of his face. "Alan does. He needs to take a nap after lunch or he gets really cranky. But he doesn't always like to so he cries a lot. I don't need to take naps any more because I'm four!" She held up the four fingers of her left hand, her right being inside Cloud's left. "Alan's only three." She hesitated a moment before curling in her pinky finger.

"I see." Cloud looked up at the church, only looking down again when Marlene tugged on his hand.

"Cloud, you can go help those people. There are lots of us and Cole and Owain are old. You wouldn't know what to do with Alan when he's cranky, anyway."

"Uh, thanks."

"You're welcome!" Marlene tugged on his hand, urging him to continue on their mission.

*7*7*

High atop one of sector five's water towers, two of ShinRa's best Turks kept a watchful eye on the warehouse district. Or goofed off, it was hard to tell. Suddenly, Reno flipped onto his stomach from gazing through his binoculars upside down.

"Hey, Rude, I think I've got the answer to our break-in problem."

Rude grunted and motioned for Reno to hand over the binoculars. He grunted again once he spotted the individual Reno pointed out.

"I bet the Chief would like to talk to him."

"Convincing him might be tough."

"We helped each other out before. Besides, we're Turks."

Even with his shades on, Rude didn't look convinced. As usual, Reno took little notice and slid down the ladder to what passed for ground on the plate.

Their target had been nearly a mile down the track between the plates when Reno first spotted him. By the time the Turks reached the loading dock next to the water tower he had turned the corner into the train station.

At that moment the target saw them and made an abrupt right-angle turn toward the barrier walls at the edge of the plate. One good jump and they'd lose him.

"Hey! Hold up! We just wanna talk!"

He stopped, but stood as if he could bolt in any direction. Reno resisted the urge to put his hands in his pockets as he strolled forward, keeping his hands in plain sight while trying to keep a casual air.

Once both Turks were within comfortable talking distance, Reno went straight to a point.

"So I'm guessing that was your work at the warehouse, right? Ya know, there are easier ways to get in a building."

Cloud's eyes narrowed. "What do you want?"

Reno put on his best surprised-hurt face. "I can't give some advice to a friend?"

"We're not friends."

"Okay, but we don't have to be enemies. What about all the times we helped each other?"

"Once."

Now it was Reno's turn to frown. "Man, this would be way easier with Zack. Guy knows when to put aside differences. We're just trying to protect ShinRa property. Letting people wander around unsupervised in the warehouses kinda runs counter to that."

"ShinRa's gone."

A grin spread unbidden across Reno's face. "That brings us to the other thing we'd like to talk to you about."

Rude adjusted his shades. "At headquarters."

"Not interested."

"Hey!" Reno took a step forward. "You don't even know what we're going to say."

"I'm not working for ShinRa."

"So call it doing us a favor. At least hear us out."

Cloud seemed to think about it for a moment before shaking his head. "I already made a promise to the people of Edge."

Reno started to protest but Rude beat him to it. "If you change your mind, you know where to find us."

Cloud marched past without so much as a nod. Shaking his head, Reno watched him leave.

"What'd you say the odds are that he'll show up?"

Rude thought for a moment. "Ten to one against."

Reno grinned. "Hey, I don't mind betting on a long shot."

* * *

 _That first scene is one that I've been waiting to write since I first came up with the idea for the sequel. It's just too cute._

 _And, yes, Cloud is asking a four-year-old for parenting advice. He seems to treat children the same way he treats adults and probably expects the same level of self-awareness from both._

 _If anyone is wondering why Cloud's acting this way toward Reno and Rude, remember that Cloud wasn't around when they 'helped' at Junon and that the business on the Gelnika was more a truce than anything. Now, if Cissnei had approached Cloud for help, that would be a different story._


	7. Communicable

**Chapter 7 - Communicable**

The trip had turned dull almost as soon as Zack, Aerith, and Elmyra left. Not only did Tifa seem incapable of spending money on herself but she scolded Yuffie as soon as the ninja princess suggested a universal discount.

Then Reeve showed up and everyone started talking about boring things like sewage treatment and grid systems. Worse, it looked like they'd keep talking about it all the way back to Midgar. Death by boredom or death by motion sickness. Yuffie decided on neither.

"Hey, I'm going to make my own way back to Edge."

Tifa stopped trying to make sense of the graph Reeve had shown her to look down at Yuffie. "Are you sure? It's a long walk."

Yuffie waved off her concern. "I traveled way farther by myself as a kid. Besides, it's better than leaving a trail of puke behind that mobile smoke stack. Might even find some materia on the way."

"Well, all right. When are you leaving?"

"Now. Want to get a bit of a head start and there isn't anything to do around here."

Tifa knew Yuffie meant 'you won't let me do anything fun,' but didn't say anything except to wish her safe passage. Reeve wished her well, too, before returning to his conversation with Tifa.

"We'll need to test the new sewage treatment system first, of course. I'm going to talk to the city council tomorrow about redirecting runoff away from Lower Junon..."

Freedom! Yuffie couldn't care less where water came from or where it went. She had a goal and a plan and that was all that mattered.

First step, some 'free' supplies and a map.

*7*7*

When Aerith woke in Costa Del Sol she noticed two things. First, that it was far too early to wake up. Second, that someone was out on the veranda. It couldn't be Elmyra, she was in the bed next to her. Careful not to wake her mom, Aerith tip-toed to the glass door and looked out.

"Zack?"

The man in question looked over his shoulder from where he stood leaning against the railing. "Hey. Did I wake you? Sorry 'bout that."

"That's fine, but what are you doing up at two in the morning?"

"Couldn't sleep." Zack turned back to the view. Somewhere beyond the overgrown bushes and stiff grass lay a small beach and the rhythmic sound of waves on sand. "I've been here on vacation a few times, though it always ended up as a monster hunt."

Aerith giggled and hugged his arm. "You'd get bored with a normal vacation, anyway."

He breathed out a laugh. "Yeah. Probably."

Aerith snuggled in, enjoying Zack's warmth and the cool breeze. But she still wanted an answer to her question.

"Nightmare?"

Zack didn't answer right away. "Yeah."

"Want to talk about it?"

"Not really."

"Hmm." Aerith turned her attention to the scenery around them, at least what she could see of it. She was fairly certain Zack could see a lot more, which was comforting and irritating at the same time. It also gave her an idea. "Let's go for a walk."

He looked down at her, glowing blue eyes wide. "Now?"

She tried to pull him toward the stairs down to the sandy path. "Sure! Why not?"

"Well, we aren't exactly... dressed."

Aerith laughed. "Your boxers don't show anything I haven't seen before and my nightgown covers a lot more than the bathing suit you were ogling earlier."

"Hey! I was ogling _you_ , not the bathing suit. Wait... That's not... ARGH! Can't I win just once?"

"You're a man, so no." Aerith smiled as Zack finally followed her lead. There were a few sharp rocks and prickly plants stabbing at her bare feet, but she ignored them.

Zack, however, did not. In a single movement he scooped Aerith, squealing, into his arms and started off at an easy lope. He didn't even think he was going all that fast until Aerith tugged at his hair.

"I said 'walk,' not 'race!'"

"Oops!" He laughed as he slowed to a walk. "Guess I was feeling a little cooped up."

There wasn't anything she could really say to that, so she just rested against his chest and listened to his heartbeat until they reached the beach. The moon illuminated everything in shades of blue. The ocean sang with life. Aerith jumped out of Zack's arms and danced across the sand, twirling on her toes with arms out to feel the sea breeze.

Zack watched her for a long time, incapable of doing anything except grin like a loon. Then Aerith bent over to pick something up off the beach, the collar of her nightgown not quite at the right angle for him to get a good view, and...

Smack!

He had to wipe seaweed out of his face.

"Hey!" He jumped after her, not really serious about catching her.

Which allowed her to duck out of the way and run down the beach.

Zack ran after her silhouette and crystal clear laughter. A couple laps around the beach later Zack decided to actually grab her, wrapping his arms around her waist and spinning.

She shrieked, of course, so Zack fell onto his back, loosening his grip just enough so Aerith could turn around if she wanted. Apparently, she did. Her arms lay loose around his shoulders and her ear rested just over his heart.

They lay there unmoving until after Aerith's breathing returned to normal.

"It was about that time."

"Hmm?" Aerith shifted as if she'd been almost asleep. "What?"

"The nightmare. I was in the labs but I wasn't me. I was Cloud."

"You both went through a lot."

"Yeah. It's just... It's been over a year since we escaped. No one's chasing us now. It's over."

Aerith thought for a moment. "I was seven when my birth mother died and Elmyra adopted me. I don't remember much before that, but sometimes I dream of grey rooms and green lights and voices begging and screaming."

"Sorry." Zack's arms tightened around her. "Guess four years isn't much in comparison."

Aerith shook her head against his chest. "That's not my point. I didn't understand what was happening, you did, more or less. And you and Cloud had to endure a lot more than I did. There are some things you just never get over. That isn't something to be ashamed of."

Zack snorted. "You're the best, Aerith."

"I try."

She woke up to sunlight shining through the window of her room. The only evidence of her early morning adventure was the sand rubbing off her feet onto the sheets.

*7*7*

All the evidence was there. Zack hadn't said anything on the phone, but the implication had probably occurred to him, too. He'd also probably dismissed it right away, Kunsel only wished he could do the same.

Geostigma was a disease transmitted through the Lifestream. Not just people, the planet itself was sick. That alone pointed in a clear direction. Added to what Ifalna said in the video reports there could be only one conclusion. As much as Kunsel had tried to find another.

Jenova. Somehow, Jenova had survived and spread. If that was true, then Sephiroth had probably survived as well. This plague was most likely either his idea or born from a combination of his will and Jenova's instinct. Either way would end the same if past experience was anything to go by.

Kunsel took out his phone for perhaps the third time that day. Would warning Cloud do any good? What could Cloud possibly do to prepare? Not get sick? Even if he stayed cheerful and out of danger it might not be enough with all the Jenova cells already in him.

Not to mention that it assumed Sephiroth had such a straight forward revenge in mind. He could try infecting those Cloud cared about, or maybe he was using Geostigma to breed new Jenova cells to build a body so he could fight Cloud directly. Or he could try mind control again. Kunsel almost preferred that idea since at least Cloud could do something to prevent it.

There were too many unknowns. Warning anyone would only cause worry and panic over things they couldn't control. So, for the third time that day, Kunsel put his phone back in his pocket.

* * *

 _If you think about it, Geostigma being connected to Jenova seems rather obvious. Then again, who would want to think about that with the implications?_

 _As for Zack, PTSD is the pits. Good thing he has Aerith around and has such a naturally upbeat personality._


	8. Negotiations

**Chapter 8 - Negotiation**

Yuffie came up with the best plan ever as she neared Midgar. She had heard that Zack had a huge stash of rare and unique materia before Sector Seven fell. Buried under all that steel and concrete it had to still be there. She'd find it and maybe one of the materia would cure Geostigma. So she didn't go to Sector Five. The only explanation she left for the others was a mass text message reading _'Im OK.'_

After all, it was _her_ idea so _she_ was going to get the glory.

That's what she thought, at least, until she actually tried searching the wreckage.

"AAAARGH! This is going to take forever!"

"Did you hear that?"

"There's someone else here."

Yuffie had her shuriken out the second she heard the voices. She slid along a mound of debris until she could see shadows shifting around the corner. Just a little farther and a puff of brown hair appeared over what had probably once been part of a fence several yards away. A pair of pink sneakers shuffled behind a pile of cinder blocks nearby.

 _Kids._ Yuffie snorted and returned her shuriken to her back. She strode out into the open with her fists on her tiny hips. "Hey, brats, what're you doing playing out here? Don't you know it's dangerous?"

"We're not playing! We're working!" A face that was mostly freckles popped up from one end of the cinder block pile.

A blonde, pigtailed head that apparently belonged to the pink sneakers popped up from the other end. "Yeah! We're The Sector Seven Search Team!"

The brown puff from earlier popped up, too. "And who're you calling brats! You're a brat, too!"

"I'm not a brat! I'm a materia hunter!"

Another head popped up from a pile of what had probably been a roof. "Yeah? How old are you?"

Yuffie puffed herself up. "I'm sixteen." _Ha. These little brats will be impressed by that._

Instead, the boy behind the roof sneared. "You're only three years older than me. Big deal."

"It is a big deal!" Yuffie swung her shuriken out in front of her. "See this? I've fought monsters and SOLDIERs and even Sephiroth!"

The blonde girl frowned. "Who's that?"

Roof-boy glared at her. "Dummy. He's some famous SOLDIER who died years ago."

"I'm not a dummy! Why would I know anything about dead SOLDIERs?"

The puff-haired boy frowned, too. "If he's been dead so long, how could you fight him?"

"'Cause he wasn't dead! Don't you kids know anything? You saw Meteor, right?"

All of them nodded. The freckle-faced boy started to climb over the cinder blocks. "What's that got to do with this?"

Yuffie waved her arms out as far as they'd go. "Everything! Sephiroth summoned Meteor which woke up these huge monsters called WEAPON that were supposed to eat him or something but they couldn't find him so they went wild. I fought them, too."

Roof-boy scrunched up his face like he'd smelled someone's old gym shoes. "You're making that up. I was watching TV and they said AVALANCHE was behind Meteor."

Yuffie was turning red by this point. "WE WERE TRYING TO _STOP_ METEOR!"

"You're with AVALANCHE?" The puff-haired boy scrambled over the pile he'd been hiding behind. "Then this is your fault, isn't it? You're the reason Sector Seven was destroyed!"

"What?" Yuffie actually backed up a step. "I don't know anything about that!"

"Liar!"

The girl ran out from behind her pile, too. "I heard that AVALANCHE planted a bomb to destroy the support pillars!"

The other two kids nodded and shouted their agreement as Yuffie continued to back away.

"That's not possible! No way Zack or Aerith or any of the others would..."

"Then who did!?" The puff-haired boy looked like he was about to either cry or punch something. Maybe both.

"I don't know!" Yuffie trembled as she fought the urge to just run away. It would hurt her pride as a materia hunter. She focused on a twisted bit of metal that had once been a rain gutter so she wouldn't have to look at the kids. "I haven't been with AVALANCHE all that long, okay? But they definitely wouldn't do something like that. It sounds more like ShinRa's style."

Roof-boy snorted. "Someone from AVALANCHE would say that."

"I believe her." To Yuffie's surprise, Freckles came to her defense. "I grew up in the slums and ShinRa never cared two gil what happened to us."

The girl looked between Freckles and Roof-boy. "But what about all the people on top of the plate?"

Puffhead stared at a spot between his shoes. "Probably didn't care about them, either."

"Whatever. Even if she is telling the truth she's still in our territory. We've got work to do."

That gave Yuffie an idea. "What sort of work?"

Roof-boy looked at her like she'd grown a third eye. "We already said, we're part of the Sector Seven Search Team. We collect materials to sell to the people building that new town."

Yuffie almost asked what new town, but didn't want to reveal her ignorance after what happened last time. "Yeah? Then I'm gonna hire you. Somewhere under here is the remains of a bar named Seventh Heaven. Think you can find it?"

"You want us to find something under the plate?" Roof-boy nearly fell off his roof. "The only part of the slums that isn't flat is the train station and part of the train graveyard."

"Yeah, so? I just want the location."

Roof-boy looked at her with almost more suspicion than when he thought she was lying earlier. "Why?"

"'Cause..." Yuffie looked away. "'Cause a friend of mine used to work there." She hoped the kids would make their own assumptions from that and not ask questions.

They didn't say anything for quite a while, just looked at each other. Finally, Roof-boy nodded.

"Fine, we can try, anyway. So what're you gonna pay us?"

"How about a hot meal?" If at all possible, she wanted to avoid paying actual gil. These kids looked hungry and it wasn't like she'd be cooking the food, anyway.

Roof-boy frowned. "Nothin' doin'. Do you have any idea how much ground we'd have to cover? Do you even know what general area this bar is in?" He crossed his arms. "Two hot meals every day until we find it."

That could get complicated. "And what if you don't find it?"

"Hope we do." Roof-boy grinned. "Or you could pay us for real."

Part of Yuffie, one that she had trouble holding in, wanted desperately to throttle the little snot. "Deal." She thrust out her hand. "Name's Yuffie."

Roof-boy's grin widened as he took her hand. "Mine's Tellah."

*7*7*

The trip between Costa Del Sol and Gongaga passed fairly quickly. They only had to stop three times to deal with monsters.

Once the truck they hitched a ride on stopped outside the general store, Zack jumped off and helped Elmyra and Aerith down.

"Zack? That you?"

He turned around and grinned at the store-owner, who'd come out to check on his supplies. "Yep! Been a while, huh, Uncle Phil?"

Phil huffed. "Seemed longer than a while to some of us. So, you gonna introduce me to your lady friends?"

"Oh, right? Uncle Phil, this is Aerith and her mom, Elmyra."

"Pleasure." Phil tugged the rim of his patched cap. "Love to stay and chat, but I've got a store to stock. Zack, make sure you to see your folks."

"That's the plan." Zack started to turn before remembering something. "Oh, are you going to be free sometime today?"

A grin slowly spread across Phil's face. "I can make time. Tell Minny to set an extra plate out for me."

Aerith shared a look with her mom. They followed Zack toward his parents' house, Aerith jogging a bit to get ahead of him a little.

"What was that about?"

Zack stopped. "What was what about?"

"You know what I mean. There's something you're hiding and I think your uncle knows what it is."

Zack held up his hands as a shield. "It's nothing bad! But I can't tell you yet. Just hold on a few more hours, okay?"

"I think we can do that." Elmyra took hold of the couple by the arms. "Right now I'm mostly looking forward to meeting your parents. I'm sure they're lovely."

* * *

 _Ended up splitting a scene apart to end the chapter at four screens in my word processor. Trying to make at least these early chapters somewhat even in length. The members of the Sector Seven Search Team here are mostly original characters, but I think you'll be able to recognize one who isn't. Actually, there are two, but the second one was only referred to briefly in canon so might as well be an OC._

 _Speaking of characters, a little detail about how I'm going about naming the residents of Gongaga. They're mostly of Greek or Biblical origin with an informal and/or old-fashioned feel to them. Dan, of course, being the short form of Daniel and Phil being short for Phillip. No, I did not intend to name him after Agent Phil Coulson. I was aware of the connection when I saw the name, but picked it mainly for the sound. Oh, and these aren't nicknames for the characters, either. Dan's full legal name is Dan Fair, just as his son's is Zack Fair. No middle names, either._


	9. Contract

_Late again! This time I have the excuse of having visitors over for the weekend. Not my visitors, my sister's, but I live with her so... yeah._

* * *

 **Chapter 9 - Contract**

Aerith's suspicions didn't go away. Every little thing seemed to raise them a little higher. Particularly how excited Zack's parents looked when he introduced Elmyra.

"Has everything been okay since last time?" Zack started to sit, but ended up fidgeting by the window instead.

"As well as one can expect." Minny brought out a beautiful antique tea set that had to have been sitting ready for guests just inside the kitchen door. "Poor Old Widow Thea died last week of Geostigma. Her daughter-in-law and granddaughter were killed when the Lifestream passed through and she couldn't handle it, poor dear. They were the only family she had left. Your Uncle Phil has been doing good business selling prong tonics up north. We've all been busy rebuilding the school. Mrs. Buros has been holding class in her kitchen, which has been a bit of a challenge for her. You remember her pepio nut pies?"

Zack laughed. "Do I? I got into more trouble stealing those than just about anything else. They were worth it, too."

"Tell her that and maybe she'll let you have some."

"Yeah. Yeah! I'll do that right now! Hey, Dad, you, uh, wanna come with?"

Something about the look father and son shared made Aerith suspect that the outing wouldn't be about pies. Still, she didn't say anything about it. She just sat and listened as the two mothers chatted. The topic shifted around naturally for the most part, but certain things kept coming up. Like the structure and contents of Elmyra's house or details about the church. One question Aerith thought particularly odd was Minny asking if the Gainsboroughs owned the church.

"No one owns it. It's there for everyone."

Minny smiled at Aerith. "Is that so? But you're still the caretaker, right? At any rate, it sounds like an important place."

Aerith relaxed a little. "That's true. It's very precious to me."

"And I'd imagine you wouldn't want to live far from it." Minny leaned back with a sigh. "If there was one good thing that came from mako, it made travel a lot easier. Not that a lot of folk traveled much, anyway, but it was nice knowing you could if need be."

Elmyra nodded. "There are a lot of things we'll have to adjust to. Times are going to be hard even without worrying about Geostigma."

"Hard but certainly not impossible. We've done just fine here in Gongaga without mako for almost four years now. If the reactor blowing up couldn't kill us off, I don't see how a little thing like this 'end of the world' talk will do it."

Aerith sipped her tea. "That attitude is probably why there's been so little sickness here."

Minny grinned. "Are you saying we're too stubborn to get sick?"

"I would have said 'optimistic.'" Aerith giggled. "Though I suppose 'stubborn' works, too."

Elmyra giggled, as well. "I can certainly see where Zack gets it from."

"That boy is as Gongagan as they come. It's often been said that if the hills of Gongaga weren't so wild then our wild men would never come home. Of course, if the hills weren't so wild, the men probably wouldn't be so wild, either. We are what the land makes us."

"We are born of the planet." Aerith tipped her head back, staring blankly at the ceiling as if listening to something far away.

Concerned, Minny reached a hand toward the flower girl, only stopping when Elmyra shook her head head and held a finger to her lips.

A few moments later Aerith blinked. "I'm sorry. I... drifted off there. Did I miss anything?"

"Not at all." Minny started collecting cups and saucers. "I was just about to suggest we move to the kitchen. Phyllis may have the best pie in town but no one can beat my pahsana vrasta."

*7*7*

Pahsana vrasta was not, Aerith soon learned, a terribly complicated dish. It consisted mostly of boiled pahsana, which would have been obvious if either Aerith or Elmyra knew the local language.

While not difficult, it was time consuming. Nearly half an hour passed and the men hadn't returned. At least this time Aerith wasn't the only one suspicious.

Minny gave the pot one last stir before untying her apron. "I'm going to make sure those boys come home with pies and not empty tins. Keep an eye on the stove, will you? All that's needed is to make sure it doesn't boil over."

As soon as Minny left, Aerith turned to her mom. "There's something strange about all of this. Zack's hiding something and it feels like his entire family is in on it."

"I don't think it could be anything bad. Maybe it's someone's birthday."

"You know it's not mine. And if it's someone else's then there isn't any reason to keep it a secret from me." Aerith sighed. "It's something else. Something... different."

Elmyra lightly brushed her daughter's arm. "Aerith? Sweetie, are you sure you're all right?"

"Hmm? Oh, yes, I'm fine. Something Mrs. Fair said got me thinking, that's all."

"You were doing something besides thinking just then. Is it the planet? If there's something wrong..."

"There's nothing wrong." Aerith's eyes drifted around the room. "It's hard to explain. I have this feeling like maybe I'm only the last Cetra who knows about that heritage, and this place feels like where they might be. But if someone doesn't know they're part Cetra does that even count?"

Elmyra thought about that for a moment. "I don't know if it matters either way. People are people no matter what. If the planet thinks it's important to have someone to talk to I'm sure it can make arrangements."

"Of course. Right now there are more important things to think about. Like what Zack's up to."

A few minutes later they heard the front door open and close. Minny popped her head in the kitchen and asked Elmyra to come into the living room for a moment. At first, Aerith stayed near the stove. Then she heard her mom laugh and sneaked to the door.

She pressed her ear to the wood just in time to hear the last part of her mom's statement. "...she's happy the rest is secondary."

Someone snorted and she heard Dan's voice. "If there were more people like you we wouldn't need these customs."

"I could say the same about you. Now, if you want to keep this a surprise we should stop talking. Aerith is probably listening in by now."

She jumped away from the door, trying to look like she hadn't been eavesdropping when Elmyra and Minny came in. The look on the older women's faces said she failed, badly.

Elmyra almost tackled Aerith with a hug. "Happy birthday!"

"What?"

"You'll see." Elmyra beeped her daughter's nose.

Beyond curious now, Aerith didn't notice the meal getting served. All her attention was focused on Zack and his family. His parents seemed particularly giddy, though Phil looked like he was having a hard time not laughing as well. Zack looked like he was using every ounce of will power he had to not jump up from the table and start doing squats.

The lack of conversation barely had time to get awkward before Minny placed a hand on Dan's arm. "Let the poor boy do it now. He's about to pop."

"Or shake his chair apart. All right." Dan stood and walked over to the dresser across the room. From the top drawer he pulled out a brightly painted stone cup wrapped in linen.

Phil produced a bottle of wine to fill the cup with. Seeing that the cup seemed to be for Zack, Aerith had to doubt the wisdom of the beverage choice. Zack had to take several deep breaths before his hands were steady enough to handle much of anything.

He took one sip before holding the cup out with both hands toward Aerith. "Will you take this cup and be my bride?"

The room fell silent. Aerith's eyes darted from one face to another before she finally found her voice.

"What do I do?"

Minny smiled. "Is your answer yes?"

"Of course!"

"Then take the cup and drink."

Aerith's hands shook worse than Zack's had. The moment the cup touched her lips the room exploded in cheers and Aerith very nearly dropped it all over her dress.

Zack looked like he had half melted into his chair. "This is way more stressful than just asking 'do you want to get married.'"

"Anything worth doin' is worth doin' right!" Dan clapped his son on the shoulder. "Now, let's dig into this wonderful meal, then we can announce to the whole village that my son is getting married!"

Minny grabbed both Aerith's and Elmyra's hands. "There's so much to prepare! A wedding date must be set and a dowery arranged if you don't already have one. In fact, I think the women here would be happiest if you don't have one, then they can all contribute something."

Elmyra blinked. "A what?"

"A dowry. Clothing, linens, all the basics for setting up a new household. We can start with my mother's old trunk. Oh! And we must go see Iris. I know she has some things waiting for a young woman to use. She'll most likely want to adopt you both!"

Phil slapped the table. "Now see here! You can't use someone else's dowry, especially if the girl it was intended for is dead. It's bad luck."

Minny waved him off. "You'd rather we let all that effort go to waste? Now hush, this is women's talk."

The rest of the meal passed in a whirl of food and plans. Aerith could barely comprehend what had happened, never mind taste anything. The chaos just got worse once the dishes were, somehow, put away. Word somehow managed to spread faster than sound could travel. Every Gongagan old enough to understand, and a few who weren't, were out as if setting up for a festival. Music and laughter filled the evening air along with the aromas of every dessert the village women could think of to make.

Aerith regained most of her senses in time to learn that she was expected to try all of the sweets. "I'll get fat!"

One of the older women laughed. "Not if you have kids like Zack. You'll spend all your time chasing them!"

"Hey." Zack rubbed the back of his head.

"Well... all right." Aerith picked one of the smaller pastries first. "This is so good! Are you sure it's safe to eat all of these?"

More of the women laughed. One pulled Aerith toward a table covered in colorful macrame shawls. "You'll soon be too busy to think about food. My sister and I make these shawls to sell to tourists. Pick any you like, half off, and the one you like the best is a gift for your wedding dress."

"She needs to pick a dress first!" Another woman ran up carrying several bolts of bold fabric. "I'm the best seamstress between Costa Del Sol and Cosmo Canyon. Every bride deserves the very best."

Aerith smiled. "For how much?"

The seamstress didn't get a chance to answer. More women and girls swarmed Aerith offering rolls of lace, yards of ribbon, bobbins of yarn, and sheets of linen. Just as she started feeling overwhelmed again, a strong arm wrapped around her shoulder. Zack pressed her into his side while trying to shoo away the determined flock.

"Are you trying to scare her off? We just got here this afternoon. Save the sales pitch for tomorrow, okay?"

With obvious reluctance, the crowd dispersed, finally leaving only the background noise of stalls being erected and murmuring voices.

"I could have handled it, but thanks." Aerith rested her head on the side of his chest. "Are the people here always like this or is it because of you?"

Dan chuckled nearby. "Weddings are a big deal for women, especially since we haven't had one in so long. Not enough young folks."

"And Zack is very popular." Minny smirked up at her son. "You broke a lot of young hearts when you ran away."

"Mom." Zack rubbed the back of his head. "It's not like I wouldn't have left in a year or so, anyway."

Minny giggled. "You're forgetting how long a year can be for the very young. In any event, tomorrow is going to be a big day so you should both get plenty of sleep."

Somewhere between the street and the bed Aerith stopped paying attention. Sleep and the planet called to her.

* * *

 _Slightly longer chapter here. Didn't really see any good places to put a break in until now. And I had a lot of fun looking up stuff about traditional weddings. I'm basing Gongagan culture heavily on Greek and Roma, with a little Jewish and the rest of the east end of the Mediterranean to fill in the gaps. Not only does it fit with what we've seen of the place it also fits with my view of Gongaga and Nibelheim being a study in contrasts. Much like Zack and Cloud. Warm, cold. South, north. Extrovert, introvert. Impulsive, reserved._


	10. Utilities

**Chapter 10 - Utilities**

As soon as Elmyra and Aerith disappeared upstairs, Zack collapsed on the couch to the loud protest of the springs. "First thing in the morning I've gotta try to convince everyone not to talk about us having kids."

Minny looked at him askance. "Now why would you do that? It's not that embarrassing."

"It wouldn't be except, well, I'm not sure we _can_ have kids."

Dan ruffled his son's hair, ignoring the protests. "Your mother and I weren't sure we could have kids for a long time, too. Tried everything we could think of. Gave offerings to Titan and Minerva for years. We were close to despair before you came along."

"Dear, aren't you being just a little dramatic?" Minny sat down next to Zack and gave him a hug. "Whatever the problem is, don't give up hope. If you're meant to have kids then you will."

Zack huffed. "Thanks, Mom."

*7*7*

The day Tifa returned, Cloud was helping the crew in Edge so he missed her arrival.

Reeve, on the other hand, stumbled upon Cloud entirely by accident while attempting to locate the local foreman.

Cloud shook his head at Reeve's question. "He's trying to find Midgar's water treatment plants, but I don't know which sector."

"The closest one is in the slums between Sectors 4 and 3 near Sector 0. I'm surprised he didn't take you with him to deal with monsters."

"Guess I'm needed more here." At a signal from the man several yards away with the tripod, Cloud pushed the red and white pole he'd been holding into the dry earth.

"I can see that." Reeve gazed out toward the looming ruins of Midgar. "However, I do need to speak with the foreman and I don't share his confidence in dealing with the resident monsters. Would you be willing to accompany me? Assuming I can talk your superior into letting you go, of course."

Cloud nodded twice, which Reeve took for enthusiasm. Definitely enthusiasm, considering Cloud had Ame no Murakumo attached to his back before Reeve returned from talking to the surveyor.

The walk between sectors was mostly uneventful. Reeve only noticed the two land worms that had been following them after Cloud killed them.

"I'm starting to wonder if the bodyguards I had when doing utility inspections were really necessary or if the monsters are just afraid of you."

"Probably the latter." Cloud stopped to listen to something Reeve couldn't hear before continuing. "Most monsters know better than to pick a fight with something stronger than them."

From almost anyone else that statement would sound like a boast. Reeve felt it sounded more resigned, but decided it wasn't his place to pry.

Eventually they located the foreman and his team, and Reeve learned that they still hadn't gotten reliable maps of Midgar's utility system. Reeve massaged his temples. He felt another headache coming.

"Corporal Kylegate assured me he had access to all the necessary city plans."

Cloud cocked his head minutely. "Kylegate?"

"Yes. You know him?"

"I'm not sure." Cloud shook his head. "The name sounds familiar, that's all."

Reeve made a mental note to learn more about Kylegate at the nearest opportunity. "In any event, getting those maps is imperative." He turned to the foreman. "If it's all right with you, I would like to borrow Cloud for a little longer. It's possible I can still access the urban development archives from my old office."

The foreman agreed readily enough. This time Cloud seemed a little hesitant, though he waited until they were out of earshot to voice it.

"I don't see why you'd need a bodyguard to the ShinRa Building."

"Old habit, and I'd like the company."

Cloud didn't say anything for a long time after that. Up until they reached the ShinRa Building, and then only to humph at the sight of Reno waving at them.

"Hey! So, did ya change your mind?"

"No."

Reeve stepped forward with a slight bow of his head. "I just need a few things from my old office. Cloud came along as company."

Reno smirked. "Ya sure got gloomy tastes. Anyway, we can't ley ya in. Since ya don't work here anymore anything that's still in that office is ShinRa property."

Cloud started to reach up for his sword until Reeve waved him off.

"What I'm looking for is ShinRa property, anyway. Complete maps of the city's utility systems. I think you'd agree that getting those back up and running is in everyone's best interests."

Reno actually looked like he thought about that before looking over at Rude, who nodded once from his unobtrusive position near the door. Reno shrugged. "If that's it, then sure. I've gotta come along to make sure that all ya take, of course."

Reeve accepted the condition with a lot more grace than Cloud, who simply sulked while trailing behind. For a moment, Cloud wondered what Zack would do in this situation. Talk, probably, something Cloud wasn't comfortable with at the moment. He almost wished Rude had come along instead. He didn't trust either Turk, but at least Rude hadn't pressed the button that dropped Sector Seven.

Reno pressed the elevator call button a few times and kicked the wall to no effect. "Guess we're takin' the stairs." He glanced back at Reeve. "So why're ya heading to your old office? Wouldn't the maps be in archives?"

"I always kept a copy in my office for reference. I thought it would be faster."

"On the sixty-fifth floor? No way, man, we're going to archives."

Cloud started off walking at the back of the group, glaring daggers into Reno's seemingly oblivious back. Then Reno made a comment about Cloud's lack of endurance, which set him walking slightly ahead of Reno. Which set the Turk power-walking to keep up. Which set Cloud marching to gain distance. Which set Reno jogging. Which set Cloud jumping ever few steps. This continued until they reached the 20th floor and they both realized that they had no idea which floor Reeve was on.

Retracing their steps, they found Reeve gasping for breath on the landing between floors ten and eleven.

"If you don't mind... perhaps we... could see if... the elevators are running... again?"

Reno grinned. "Sure, why not? A side trip through vehicle testing'll be fun, anyway." He all but skipped down the stairs, leaving Cloud to help Reeve to his feet.

The tenth floor consisted mostly of long rooms full of drafting tables and scale models of the various vehicles ShinRa had designed, both civilian and military. A few larger rooms held the actual testing equipment, including racks full of crash test dummies that Cloud made a point of not looking at. He wasn't looking at much of anything until _it_ appeared at the edge of his awareness.

Huge, black, and obviously half finished, the motorcycle lay partly on its side among the bits of scrap parts near one of the large garage doors. A few moments, later he found himself pushing the motorcycle upright, looking it over. His knowledge of such things was limited mostly to the kind of field maintenance expected from all ShinRa grunts, but he could tell right away this bike would never have gone to the infantry. Too heavy, for one thing.

Too nice, for another. Cloud brushed a hand over the left front suspension. It looked like they'd used a mythril alloy. He wondered for a moment if Cid would mind coming to Midgar to help finish the bike.

No. Even if Cid were willing there would still be the problem of fuel. Most vehicles could be fitted to run on gasoline in a pinch, but relying on that for long would destroy all but a few engines.

So there was a small chance. Most of the engine stats would be written on the casing of the fuel cell. Cloud looked for the release, noting in passing what appeared to be scorch marks along the edge of the slot. He didn't consider it important until he actually pulled the fuel cell out.

By that time he wasn't doing much thinking at all.

* * *

 _So I was writing this scene and it didn't seem to be going much of anywhere. Then I realized that I needed to find another way for Cloud to get Fenrir since the way he got Fenrir in canon was void now (given my headcanon). And then I realized that all the vehicles ran on mako and that there was all that weaponized Lifestream doing crazy stuff right there and that the stored mako probably got affected as well. Materia, too. It'd probably be a bad idea to use any materia just found laying around Midgar right now. Someone should tell Yuffie._


	11. Cleansing

**Chapter 11 - Cleansing**

Tifa looked up from wiping mucous and dirt off Dale's face when she heard several unfamiliar voices arguing with one all-too-familiar voice.

Nearby, Barret groaned. "Not again."

"What?" Tifa handed Dale off to his older sister Amy and watched them run off playing with Dale's stuffed moogle.

"Yuffie brought a bunch o' brats 'round a couple days ago. Dunno where they came from and they won't stay here, but they keep comin' back for food."

"I better head over to Elmyra's, then."

Barret stood. "I'll come wi' ya. They eat a lot."

Tifa didn't doubt that one bit, especially as the voices drew close enough for her to identify some of them as belonging to boys. "Sounds like things have been lively around here."

"Huh. Tha's one way of puttin' it. M'be now that ye're back Cloud'll help out 'round here more often."

"I don't know. Since he's found something he enjoys shouldn't we encourage him?"

Barret shrugged. "If he likes it. Kinda hard to tell wi' him."

Unfortunately, Tifa had to agree.

*7*7*

 _Blood spread everywhere. It stained the white marble floor, soaked through his pants, and covered his hands._

 _Their blood. His friends. Those he failed to protect._

 _His blood. He couldn't even protect himself._

 _He felt himself scream but all he could hear was manic cackling._

 _Something cool slid past his cheek, calming him._

He blinked.

Something wet, not blood, pooled around him. It stung and oozed between his fingers.

Mako.

Fighting down panic, he first tried to move one arm then the other. Both responded to his directions.

"You're awake."

With a grunt, Cloud managed to push himself up enough to see who had spoken. Reeve sat on a short stack of tires a few feet away.

"How long?"

Reeve checked his watch. "About twenty minutes. Reno's looking for something we can use to safely move you. Which may not be necessary now."

Cloud grunted again as he sat up. He noticed that the fuel cell he'd extracted earlier lay about where his chest had been, looking like a crumpled up paper bag.

"I believe the floor below connects to the infantry barracks." Reeve followed the dripping mako with his eyes. "There might be a functioning shower there."

"Depends on what you consider functioning." Cloud shook some of the mako from his hair before trying to stand. "A janitor's closet with a hose will be fine."

Reeve chuckled and pointed down the hall with a comment about possibly scaring Reno on the way. The thought almost brought a smirk to Cloud's face.

Halfway to the door, Cloud stopped. "Almost forgot. There's gasoline in one of the warehouses in Sector 5. Figured you'd want to know."

"Yes. Thank you. Does anyone else know?"

Cloud shook his head. "At least... I don't think so."

"Hmm. Kylegate's people might mistake it for paraffin. I'll have to talk to the Turks about having it moved." Reeve sighed, obviously not relishing the idea.

Cloud wasn't exactly thrilled, either, but if anyone knew how to hide several fifty gallon drums effectively it would be the Turks. And it was, technically, ShinRa property. So Cloud left to find a hose and hoped this little trip would be over soon.

*7*7*

About that same time, in Gongaga, Zack stood back from the finished pulley rig. "That should do it. Everyone ready?"

A cheer rose from the other Gongagan men as they took up their ropes. There were three, two for teams of men and one for Zack. On his count, they pulled until the massive section of sheet metal and I-beams that had once been part of the reactor broke free of the side of Old Max's house.

They eased up on the ropes slowly, letting the chunk of metal settle onto the ground and against the structure of the rig.

"It worked! Yes!" Zack pumped his fists.

One of the men nodded. "But now what do we do with it?"

Zack looked around. "We could just push it over the cliff. The jungle will deal with it from there."

"Or you could push it." The other men agreed with various phrasings of "I'd like to see that."

Grinning and rolling his shoulders, Zack positioned himself behind the piece of ruined reactor. At first, he only managed to dig a pair of short trenches the width of his feet into the ground, then, with a long metallic groan, the immovable object yielded to the unstoppable force.

For a second he felt himself fall along with the metal. He caught a glimpse of white and gold armor and heard a single word.

 _Champion._

He blinked and found himself back at the edge of the cliff behind Old Max's house.

"Zack?" One of the men stepped toward him. "You okay, boy?"

He spun around. "Yeah. Gotta find Aerith!"

Under almost any other circumstances he would have responded to, or at least acknowledged, the laughter and barely-veiled comments shouted after him.

Once back in the village proper he followed the sound of laughing women to the Buros house. He knocked on the door and bounced until Phyllis's daughter, Alice, answered the door.

"Zack! What are you doing here?"

"Gotta talk to Aerith. She's here, right?" He started to step through the door when he felt a small hand press against his chest.

"Wai-!" Alice sucked in a sharp breath as if just realizing not only that he wasn't wearing a shirt but that his muscles were hard as rock. Her hand fluttered a bit, uncertain whether to pull away or stay put. "You can't come in, she's being fitted."

Zack started bouncing again. "Seriously? This is urgent."

"Can't you hold it in until the wedding?"

"No- What?! That's not... This is something totally different!"

"You're half-dressed and vibrating like a ram in rut. What did you expect me to think?"

Zack froze, trying very hard not to look down. Any further down than necessary to look at Alice, anyway. He remembered her being taller than him. "Look, could you just let her know I need to talk to her? Soon? I'll be right outside."

"Sure." She stuck her head out the door after he left. "We've got a hose out back! Stick your head under it!"

When Aerith finally did appear in the play-scarred yard she was a vision of floating skirts and flowing floral sleeves. Gold bracelets glittered around her wrists while net shawls clung to her tiny waist. Zack seriously considered turning that hose on again.

She must have noticed, because her eyes twinkled with mischief. "You wanted to talk to me?"

"Huh? Oh, right. When you talk to the planet, do you ever see anything? Or anyone?"

Aerith frowned. Not at all what she'd been expecting. "Not really. Why?"

Zack rubbed the back of his head. "I was hoping you'd recognize someone. A woman, or goddess, I guess. Lots of gold and white armor, blonde... Kinda looks like she could be related to Cloud, except taller." He frowned. "Called me 'Champion.'"

A small giggle escaped from Aerith's lips over the knuckles of her right hand. "You _would_ be visited by a beautiful woman." A little more seriously, she gave his words some thought. "Sounds like the planet is interested in you."

"I'm not sure what to think about that."

"Hmm. It's probably a good thing." She tilted her head to one side. "Is that all? She just appeared and said one word?"

Zack nodded. "I'm pretty sure I've met her, too. Well, fought her."

"Fought her?"

"Yeah. In a cave up north. She was causing some sort of anomaly that made machines act like monsters and the dead keep moving. I thought she might've been a rogue summon, but now I'm not so sure."

Aerith frowned and rested her chin on the knuckles of her right hand. "I could try asking the planet. It usually doesn't give specific answers, but it might point us in the right direction."

"Works for me." He paused for a moment and scratched the back of his head. "I guess you'll want to do that somewhere private."

"Why, Zack!" Aerith pressed a hand to her chest in mock horror. "What will the neighbors think?"

He scratched the back of his head again. "Probably what they're already thinking. Sorry about that."

Aerith smiled. "It's fine. And we can do the reading at your parents'. They'll have to know about this eventually, anyway."

Zack grinned, reaching out to hug her until he remembered how damp he was. To his surprise, Aerith closed the short distance and hugged him.

She smiled up at him. "The dress needs to washed, anyway. So, to your parents'?"

Grinning back, he scooped her up into his arms. "Gotta practice for our wedding day."

* * *

 _Okay, I admit that a lot of this is pure fluff, but it also has some plot significance. Really! Besides, Zack and Aerith are so adorable and they're easy to write together._


	12. Connections

**Chapter 12 - Connections**

Cloud and Reeve walked together away from the ShinRa Building for only a few blocks before Reeve stopped.

"There's a... personal matter that I want to attend to." He handed Cloud the folder containing the hard-copy maps. "Until next time."

Cloud nodded and left Reeve to make the winding walk through the remains of Sectors Seven, Six, and Five alone. Finally, he found the place. A little one-story house that had once been identical to all its neighbors but now stood in ruins. The backyard held an unusual amount of soil with one area roughly five feet long and two feet wide recently disturbed. A ragged piece of metal siding served as a headstone.

Reeve bowed his head. "I'm... sorry. I should have visited more often, or at least called. If nothing else, I should have been here so you didn't have to spend your last days alone. Someday... soon, I hope, maybe I can get you moved home. You'd probably say I'm making too big a fuss, but... It would make me feel better knowing you... your remains were near family." He reached into his jacket and pulled out a small pressed flower. "Rest in peace, Mother."

*7*7*

One thing Cloud still found himself struggling to get used to was being able to tell who was in a room before he entered it. At least, so long as he wasn't distracted by his own thoughts. In this case, he almost missed Tifa's presence entirely on entering the church.

She stood up in what to Cloud seemed like slow motion. The ragged tips of her hair brushed her ears and cheeks. The corners of her lips turned up slightly on seeing him.

Cloud stepped forward almost in a daze. He noticed that she had new clothes, a black leather vest that hugged her ample breasts and ended just above her narrow waist. Her mini-skirt had been traded in for black cargo shorts, a disappointment in some ways though also a bit of a relief.

"Cloud?"

"Huh?" He blinked several times, pulling himself back to the present.

Tifa turned away slightly. "You're staring. Is something wrong?"

"No. I'm... glad you're back."

She smiled at him and he could feel his mind drip away. He watched her step to one side. Her hips swiveled as she turned then knelt with her back to him. As she stood back up she had something in her hands, causing her to sway gently as she rose.

Next thing he knew, she presented the object to him and said something.

"Huh?"

Tifa smiled without meeting his eyes. "It's for you. I thought, since your clothes have been mended so often, maybe..."

Cloud flipped back the lid. Inside were two black, cable-knit vests and a pair of black canvas pants.

"If you don't like them, that's fine. I kept the receipt so..."

"Thanks." He tucked the box under one arm. "I'll... try them on after supper."

"Okay. Oh! I have to start supper!" Tifa ran for the door and spun around. "Keep an eye on the kids for me, okay, Cloud?"

Cloud just stood there, still processing what had happened.

*7*7*

Green. Pale, glowing, and sickly where it should have looked like life itself. Yet, somehow, it didn't seem as bad as it could have, as bad as it was other places. Aerith felt sure that if there were answers she could get them here.

"Hello? Please, can you tell me what you want with Zack?"

No words, though the background murmuring increased. She felt a question press at her, as if the Lifestream wasn't sure who she meant.

Of course. The planet didn't pay much attention to individuals. A name would be meaningless. She focused on Zack, his aura and her memories of him. Around her, the Lifestream shifted. Misty shapes formed, some familiar others not.

"I don't understand. Did you call him champion? Why?"

Again the Lifestream shifted. Threads wove around her and shot out into the mist.

Aerith gasped. Each thread connected her to a familiar presence. Closest and strongest was Zack's warm golden light. Cloud's blue pulsed in the distance. Near him, Tifa, Yuffie, and Barret appeared faint yet distinct among the swirling spirits of the children. In the opposite direction she felt Kunsel's worry. She could identify Nanaki, Cid, Shera, and even Cait.

She pulled back from exploring the web further. She had to remember her purpose. Turning her attention back to Zack, she found even more threads connected to him. It didn't surprise her at first, he made friends everywhere he went, after all.

Then she looked closer, a task in itself considering how brightly he shined. A thin gold thread plunged into the depths of the planet. She tried to follow it. The darkness pressed in but couldn't touch the thread.

The Lifestream tried to pull her away even as she tried to find where the thread went.

The darkness noticed her. It rushed up, an all too familiar evil focused on tainting her.

The Lifestream swirled around her in a wall. The force of the collision knocked her back to the surface, back into her body.

*7*7*

"Ah!" Aerith slumped back, caught only because of Zack's lightning reflexes. He pulled her forward into his chest.

"I've got you."

Aerith hummed into his shirt. She could still see a faint glimmer of his aura when she closed her eyes. "Something in the planet likes you. And..." She clung to him a little tighter.

"Hey. What is it?"

"It's Geostigma. It's like we feared."

Zack stiffened, his grip on Aerith tightening. "What?"

"Sephiroth."

*7*7*

Cloud brought his borrowed sword down to horizontal. Without stopping, he swung the sword to the right, pivoting on his heel. Now facing the opposite direction, he leaped forward, swinging the sword diagonally before finishing with a horizontal slice.

A twinge of pain stabbed through his left bicep. It had started as an itch last night. At first, Cloud thought it was some mako that hadn't been completely washed off, but it continued even after washing before bed. It felt worse now.

Cloud grit his teeth and kept up his sword practice. Normally, this early morning routine helped him focus and drive away whatever nightmares he had the night before. This time, every movement sent prickling pain up his arm, reminding him, somehow, of all his short comings.

Slice.

When he worried his friends.

Lunge.

When he hurt Aerith.

Spin.

And gave the black materia to Sephiroth.

Stab.

When his inability to act resulted in Zack and Aerith almost dying.

Block.

When he helped Sephiroth summon Meteor.

Thrust.

When he hurt Yuffie.

Parry.

When Sephiroth possessed him and tried to rape Tifa.

Ame no Murakumo slipped from his trembling fingers as he collapsed to his knees.

"I'm stronger than my past. Sephiroth is dead. He can't control me."

 _Is that what you truely believe? Nothing but a puppet._

The last thing Cloud heard was his own scream.

* * *

 _Cliffhanger! In case anyone's wondering about the pace of things, this is what happens when Aerith isn't in the Lifestream to purify incoming souls. Sephiroth's plans for world destruction and Cloud torture proceed a lot faster! It took almost two years in canon and it's been, what, about two weeks here? Yeah, so there are downsides to Zack and Aerith still being alive._


	13. Rising Threat

**Chapter 13 - Rising Threat**

"Cloud! Cloud!"

He gasped on waking, skittering away from the comforting hand reaching for his arm.

Tifa crouched nearby, her hand slowly pulling away. "Cloud, what happened? Are you hurt?"

"No. I'm... fine." Cloud rubbed his arm. It didn't feel quite as bad as before.

Tifa gazed at him with soft eyes full of sympathy and worry. "It looks like you passed out. You're working yourself too hard. Maybe you should rest today."

That was the last thing he wanted to do. Rest meant he might sleep, which meant more nightmares.

"Did you hurt your arm?"

Cloud stiffened, hesitant to remove his right hand from his left upper arm.

Nothing.

Tifa shook her head. "You need to take better care of yourself. Why don't you go get some rest. You can use the spare room at Elmyra's."

He shrugged. She was probably right.

*7*7*

That afternoon, Tifa managed to rope Yuffie into helping her get ready for supper. Yuffie tried her best to sneak out or at least divert Tifa's attention from the task at hand.

"Hey. Have you seen Cloud today?"

"Not since this morning. Why?"

"Well, he's wearing that new shirt you got him, but it's got a sleeve now. Just one. Weird, right?"

Tifa frowned, trying to think why he'd do that. "Which arm?"

"The left. I didn't even know he could sew. Guess he had to patch up his own uniforms in the army. ShinRa seems like it'd be cheap like that."

Yuffie continued her rant while Tifa half-listened. Did Cloud hurt his arm and not want people to see? Or maybe he was cold and didn't have enough material for a second sleeve. Of course, there was also the question of where he got the material.

"Oh! And I called Aerith yesterday! She seemed really happy but wouldn't say about what." Yuffie grinned while wiggling her eyebrows. "I can guess, though."

Tifa coughed. "Yuffie! Even if they are doing that, you shouldn't talk about it."

Yuffie wrinkled her nose and mouth. "You're no fun. What, hasn't Cloud made a move yet?"

"YUFFIE!" Tifa turned a florescent pink. She also nearly scalded herself from sloshing the soup.

The girl just laughed as she ran from the room. Tifa didn't want Yuffie's help now.

*7*7*

Braith waved Denzel and Rick over from the top of a broken wall. "I think I found a way down!"

Once the boys reached the spot, they saw a broken piece of road that opened into the sewers.

Rick grimaced at the smell and green sludge. "We want to go to the slums, not wander around in what ShinRa dumps on the slums."

"I already checked it." Braith stuck out her tongue. "The pipe's broken. I could see struts and things further down."

The three took out their flashlights to check and compare their batteries. Rick had the most power left, so he went first. Denzel followed him with Braith taking up the rear. The place really did stink even though there hadn't been anything pumped into the system for weeks. The smell didn't get much better once they reached the crushed and mangled girders below.

Rick suddenly stopped. "Did you see that?"

"Not with both of your fat heads in the way."

Denzel tried to ignore her, he really did. "What is it?"

"I thought I saw something move." Rick glanced over his shoulder with a particularly scathing look for Braith. "Try to stay quiet."

Braith stuck her tongue out again, but did as she was told.

They saw a lot of moving shadows but nothing identifiable or even solid. The deeper they went, the darker the shadows and the more things seemed to move. The deeper they went, the closer they pressed against each other.

Denzel had his flashlight out when they reached what they thought was the ground. Part of the support pillar lay across several houses, keeping the collapsed plate from completely crushing a few buildings around it. The beam from his flashlight passed over part of a sign laying near one of these.

 _Tif- -eve- Hea-n_

He swung his flashlight back over the sign. "Hey, what did Yuffie say the name of the place was?"

"Seventh Heaven." Rick frowned at the pool of light Denzel's flashlight cast. "Guess that's it."

Braith peeked over the boys' shoulders. "So we can leave?"

Denzel certainly wasn't about to argue against that. He let his flashlight drift around the remains of the bar, afraid that some monster would jump out from the deep shadows. Tiny bits of color glittered in the rubble.

Those little glitters caught Rick's attention. He leaned forward, resting against a twisted metal strut to keep from falling off their not-entirely-stable perch. "Is that materia down there?"

"Does it matter? I just want out of here!"

Denzel would have agreed with her if he actually liked her. He didn't, so he was tempted to suggest staying just for spite.

Rick made the decision for them by hopping down to another platform. From there he ran down a narrow path made up of old concrete and metal. The other two kids started to yell at him before realizing they were also announcing their location to every monster in the sector. Annoyed and terrified, Braith and Denzel silently agreed to a truce.

Perhaps they'd make peace while beating up Rick.

*7*7*

Elder Hargo found Kunsel passed out in one of the study rooms late that night. Concerned, he shook the young SOLDIER's arm.

And very nearly had his face smashed in by a flying fist.

"Woah! Oh! Sorry." Kunsel shook his head and yawn. "What time is it?"

"Nine in the evening. When did you last sleep?"

"What day is it?"

Elder Hargo tisked as he straightened up the piles of books scattered over the table. "You won't learn anything if you're too tired to see." Looking at the odd array of titles, he added, "It may also help if you tell me what you're trying to find."

"Something the Ancients did." Kunsel tapped the disk containing Dr. Gast's reports. "They were able to seal Jenova two thousand years ago. I was hoping to figure out how."

"I'm not sure that information exists, at least now. It's almost certainly been lost since then."

Kunsel let his head thunk onto the desk. "I was afraid of that."

"What makes this information so vital?"

So Kunsel explained his theory about Geostigma being connected to Sephiroth and Jenova. Elder Hargo listened in silence, only nodding slowing and growing more grave by the second.

"This is most disturbing." Elder Hargo stroked his beard as he contemplated Kunsel's story. "I wish I had an answer. Have you spoken to the Ancient?"

"No. I was hoping to avoid spoiling her good time."

Hargo smiled knowingly. "Ah yes, of course. Life continues to flourish even in the darkest of times."

Kunsel nodded as he pulled out his phone. "But it looks like I have to talk to her, anyway. Damn."

"You should sleep first. Things like this are best discussed during the day."

Though Kunsel hated to leave this unfinished, Hargo had a good point. Even SOLDIERs needed a good night's sleep once in a while. And he certainly wasn't in a hurry to give Aerith the bad news.

* * *

 _The girl who's with Rick and Denzel is named after a girl in Skyrim who none of the fans seem to like, which may give a hint as to how I'm going to handle this segment of the story. As for Kunsel's part... the poor guy really needs to get better acquainted with his bed._


	14. Abyss

_So sorry this is late! The last few days have been interesting to say the least. Happy interesting, thankfully._

* * *

 **Chapter 14 - Abyss**

Darkness. Nothing but black shadows and grey rubble for hours. Denzel stumbled over his own foot. He and Rick had lost their flashlights some uncounted tunnels ago.

 _We left her behind._ They hadn't had any other choice. If they had stayed, the thing in the water would have gotten them, too.

Braith's screams followed him long after they escaped the pool.

Rick pulled him into a narrow crack in what had probably once been a warehouse. They crouched there, barely daring to breath, as one of the sightless moving shadows oozed past. Even after the squelching noise faded with distance they could barely do more than shiver in their hiding place.

"I... I think it's gone." Rick slid a little closer to the opening.

Denzel followed on his hands and knees. "We should go back. We should find Braith."

Rick almost stepped on Denzel's fingers shuffling back into their hiding place. "What good'll that do? You saw it. If it didn't eat her then she's drowned by now."

And it would be his fault, or Rick's. Denzel didn't know who to blame.

"I think I know where we are."

"Huh?"

Rick held up a large bolt. "This is from a train car. I think we're near The Train Graveyard."

"What's that?"

"Somewhere ShinRa dumped all their wrecked trains. It's pretty close to the station, so we might be able to find a way out."

Denzel knew enough by now to recognize the bitterness in Rick's words. "You're from the slums?"

"Yeah. What of it?" Rick glared at Denzel, even though they could barely see each other.

"Nothing." Denzel felt like a complete heel as he followed his friend through the twisted remnants of the slums. He'd never liked Braith. Maybe if he had then he would've done something to save her. Maybe if he had grown up in the slums he'd know what to look for now even in the dark.

Maybe he wouldn't be a burden.

Light appeared ahead of them so small and faint that they didn't recognize it at first. Even as they got closer, the light stayed dingy and grey. Everything around them looked grey except for patches of rust. Dust fell from the distant sky, creating a murky haze.

Rick crawled and slid down the side of a twisted chunk of rail car onto what could charitably be called ground. Denzel followed much more hesitantly. The dust crawled into their clothes and drifted into their noses. Coughing did little to dislodge it.

Still, Denzel felt better away from the shadows.

"Over here!" Rick's voice echoed weirdly in the metal and concrete cavern. He stood near a tangled mat of girders and cables suspended from some unseen piece of the plate above. "I think we can get up this way."

"You think so?"

Rick nodded, pointing out the shafts of light cutting through the dust clouds. "And we're close to the station, so it'll be a quick walk home."

Home. Without Braith. Denzel's heart sank into his stomach at the thought of explaining to all their friends what happened. He was so focused on his anxieties that he didn't notice how the shadows of the wires looked like grasping tentacles.

*7*7*

Work on the new town site that day mostly focused on clearing rocks. Especially one very large boulder poking out of the ground like an obscene gesture against their plans to build a road. Cloud had been on the team trying to dig it out, but after his third broken shovel the foreman moved him to picking loose stones.

He wanted a shovel. Or a pick. Something. With both hands constantly occupied it'd be easier to ignore the constant itch crawling up his left arm. At least with the sleeve there he wasn't quite as tempted to look at it every few seconds.

The inexplicable anxiety that flooded his mind every time the itching drew his attention was worse. Normal rashes didn't come with panic attacks. Normal rashes _looked like_ rashes instead of normal skin. He couldn't see any reason for his arm to itch, and he'd checked it several times before finally scrounging up the material for the sleeve.

He'd gotten a few comments about the lopsided look at the work-site, which just set his base anxiety level even higher. That little nagging voice from his childhood that loved to point out every mistake, real or otherwise, came back with a vengeance. Only this time it sounded suspiciously like Sephiroth.

But Sephiroth was dead. Cloud had killed him. Repeatedly. He watched Sephiroth dissolve into the Lifestream.

 _"I am always by your side."_

Cloud jumped back, gasping.

"Hey! Watch it!" One of the other pickers tried to push him out of the way.

The pickup they were supposed to toss their rocks into had puttered several yards ahead while Cloud had zoned out.

Another picker nudged his shoulder. "You doin' okay?"

"Yeah. Fine."

"Better get movin' then."

Cloud bent down to pick up another rock and nearly pitched into the ground. His fingers gouged thin trenches in the hard dirt.

 _"You are a part of me."_

"Get. Out."

The picker who had expressed concern bent over him. "Huh? What's that?"

The poor man had no idea a human could move that fast. Somewhere between falling on his butt and realizing he had fallen, Cloud had completely disappeared.

*7*7*

 _Danger._

 _Moving._

Cloud didn't slow down until he hit the doors of the church. The children inside nearly jumped out of their skin at the sound of wood slamming into stone.

"Cloud? What's wrong?" Cole stood up only to collapse against the side of the pew, clutching his right leg. Black puss seeped through his pants and between his fingers.

 _Not here._

Cloud's eyes skimmed over the small throng of children. The next oldest one there was Amy. She hovered over her little brother, who was clutching his stuffed moogle like a lifeline.

"Get Tifa."

Amy opened and closed her mouth without a sound. She finally nodded and ran from the church with her brother in tow.

Little Nelly shuffled toward him. "Cloud?"

"Stay here." With that, he vanished.

*7*7*

Plates and silverware clattered over the floor less than a second before Aerith's body joined them.

Zack was at her side before his parents could even blink. The only one apparently unsurprised was Elmyra, who calmly felt her adopted daughter's forehead.

"Dan, go get Phil." Minny waved to the door. "Tell him to bring whatever potions he has."

Elmyra grabbed Dan's wrist as he stepped away from the table. "Wait. I don't think that's a good idea."

Dan frowned. "I don't know much about medicine, but I know she needs help."

"I know, but... this isn't something a potion can fix."

Zack looked up at his parents. "She's right."

The older couple exchanged a look before turning to their son. Minny rested a hand on his shoulder. "What's going on?"

"Uh, you know those stories you used to tell me about knights and fairy princesses?" Zack rubbed the back of his head with one hand while waving his other over the prone form of his betrothed. "Meet the princess."

*7*7*

Swirling, dancing green.

Lifestream.

She searched frantically for that gold aura that would lead her home.

 _Daughter._

The thought froze her in place. Before her appeared a woman in glowing armor, a golden wheel rimmed by six white wings fixed to her back. Somehow she knew this woman. This goddess.

 _Minerva._

The goddess nodded once and looked off into the distance. A festering knot of black Lifestream pulsed out tendrils that snapped and corroded everything it touched.

"I know, but I don't know what to do."

 _Champion._

That word again. "You said that to Zack. What does it mean?"

The goddess didn't answer. An emotion, something like fear, flickered for a moment across sky-blue eyes and the world spun.

She only had the feeling of something dark rushing past before waking.

* * *

 _And end chapter! Just thought the 'eldritch' part of Jenova's 'eldritch abomination' needed a little emphasis. Got my inspiration from the Dragonborn DLC for Skyrim and the Arkham Horror board game. Fun stuff. Not recommended for stormy nights when the power's likely to fail. I also just had to fit in Zack's attempt at explaining what Aerith is to his parents._


	15. Worry

**Chapter 15 - Worry**

"... the call this morning was about?"

"Yeah. Kunsel's still working on it from his end, but I don't know how much good that'll do. Hey! She's awake!"

Aerith blinked a few times before the world turned from a brownish blur to an equally brown ceiling. Zack's head popped up from her left, adding black and glowing sky-blue to the pallet.

He looked worried, so she smiled. "Heaven?"

He laughed, but instead of throwing his head back he let it fall against the cushion under her head. "This is getting to be a habit with us."

"Zack! Let the girl breathe!"

She didn't mind having his hair all over her face, but decided that a better way to get rid of everyone's worry would be sitting up. Her head spun a bit before she got herself re-situated. Somehow Zack had ended up on the couch next to her.

Everyone still stared at her with undisguised worry. And more than a little curiosity from Minny and Dan. Zack rubbed the back of his head and fidgeted like a guilty kid.

"Did something happen while I was out?"

"I, uh, told them." Zack cleared his throat. "About the Cetra, and Meteor, and geostigma. All of it." His arms were up to shield him from anything Aerith could say before she had even processed his statement. "They needed an explanation for why you collapsed! And then one question lead to another and... well..."

Aerith giggled into the back of her hand. "Oh, Zack. I'm only sorry I missed it." And so relieved that the reaction hadn't been too drastic. "So, I guess you're wondering what happened on my end."

"Yes!"

"Of course!"

"Whenever you're ready, dear."

Aerith took a deep breath. "There's an... entity in the Lifestream called Minerva."

"You met the goddess?" Dan's jaw nearly hit the floor.

"Dad?"

"One of the older gods. Most people don't think about her much even around here."

Minny smiled. "She's the goddess of life and wisdom. And patron of mothers." Her smile turned conspiratorial. "So what did she say?"

The young couple exchanged an awkward, blushing look before Aerith managed to find her tongue. "She was warning me, I think. About geostigma. I didn't get everything, the tainted Lifestream attacked before I could understand."

"What!?" Zack jumped to his feet then sat back down, visibly holding back from checking her for injuries. "Are you hurt? Did it touch you? How many fingers am I holding up?"

"Five. Zack, I'm fine. Minerva pushed me out before anything could happen."

His eyes still looked lost and frightened, but he did settle back on the couch.

Elmyra had been sitting by the dining table, close but not intruding, until that moment. Then she and Minny stood at the same time.

"I think they need a little time alone, don't you?"

Minny nodded. "Dan? Shouldn't you be starting the afternoon chores?"

Soon everyone left except Aerith and Zack. The moment the back door clicked shut, Zack let out a long, tired sigh.

"I hate this."

That sounded strange coming from him. Aerith looked up at the side of his face, trying to find something other than fatigue. "Hmm?"

He gestured vaguely. "This... I... I can't protect you when this happens. I can protect your body, but that's pretty useless if you aren't in it."

She leaned a little toward him. Just enough so her head tapped his shoulder. "I appreciate having a body to come back to."

"Yeah, but... what if something happens to you in there? I'm supposed to be your way back or something but I can't seem to do anything to make sure you _can_ come back." He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her so close she was all but sitting in his lap. "I can't keep you from being hurt."

Aerith wiggled around so she was sitting on his lap, her right side leaning against his chest and her arms drapped over his broad shoulders. Her first thought was to say he didn't have to protect her, but that was a lie. He had to, if not for her than for himself. It was something her mom, Elmyra, had said once, that men had to have something to protect in order to feel complete. It was why Mr. Gainsborough had gone off to war. Neither of them had completely believed in ShinRa's reasons, but the pay was steady and there was a pension in case anything happened.

Elmyra had lived off that pension until the day she fled Midgar with Marlene.

Zack tightened his grip on her, moving one hand to ease her head into the corner of his neck and shoulder. "You were out for almost two hours. I thought I was going to go nuts. I could feel you so close and far away and I couldn't _do_ anything."

"I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault." He look a long, deep breath. "But next time Minerva decides to chat, tell her to talk to me first."

Aerith laughed at the mental image. Wrapped up in him like that, she could easily believe he'd take on a goddess for her. And win.

Didn't he do something like that already?

"Zack?"

"Not going anywhere." His voice came out lower than usual and she noticed that the hand not on her head had slipped down to her hip and seemed to be trying to decide between her thigh and the small of her back as its next destination.

Aerith shifted just enough to settle her right shoulder a little more comfortably against his left. "That goddess you met in the cave... I think that was Minerva."

"All the more reason for me to have a word with her."

"I want video. But seriously, I think the planet is planning something. Something involving you."

Zack huffed. "You know, I'm real tired of being used. I know this is for saving the planet and all, but I'd still appreciate being told first."

Aerith laughed again. Quietly and careful not to move much since she was so comfortable right there. "You aren't Cetra, silly. The planet couldn't tell you. And I'm still learning how to understand."

"Uh, good point." He smiled against her hair. "Sure wish your ancestors had left a manual or something. 'Planet Reading In Five Simple Steps.'"

"I'd never get it away from Kunsel." Her smile slipped a little. "I hope he's doing okay."

Zack sighed, which tickled Aerith's ear and made her tingle all over. "Him and Cloud."

"Something happen?"

"Maybe. While you were out, I had this odd... feeling. Like something bad had happened. Could just be nerves, but what with that connection we're supposed to have I'm..." He sighed again. "I'm worried, damn it."

Aerith worried, too, and wondered if they'd really saved the planet at all.

*7*7*

Black everywhere. The world had been grey and then the black things slithered up and trapped them.

Denzel couldn't see. He could hear something slurping. He could feel slime trying to force its way into his mouth. But he couldn't see.

Then a crashing noise and light. Something grabbed him but it wasn't slime. It felt human. Then darkness again, this time some sort of fabric over a hard surface. Denzel could hear a heartbeat.

He could also heard Rick trying not to cry and wind rushing past. They were moving. And then not. And then they were dropped onto what had once been a road.

Denzel blinked against the morning sun. How long had they been down there? Something dark stood over him. A man in a black uniform with a giant sword and spiky yellow hair.

Cloud.

Cloud sank to one knee so he could examine the boys closer. Denzel shuddered when those glowing eyes past over him.

"You okay?"

Denzel tried to talk, but it came out as more of a squeak. He settled for nodding, instead. Beside him, Rick seemed to have the same problem.

"Right. Then I'll..." Cloud's head snapped up just before a black tentacle snaked around his swordarm.

Then another around his neck.

Cloud tossed his sword into his left hand as he spun to cut the tentacles holding him and others shooting up from the hole they'd left.

"Run!"

Denzel couldn't move. Rick had to drag him almost a foot away before he could scramble to his feet.

And he ran. He hated himself and he ran.

* * *

 _I hate doing these things to Denzel, but it all has a purpose. A horrible, evil purpose._

 _Also, Minerva is only getting involved because Aerith is around to communicate with and Zack's still alive. Yes, Zack being alive is important. Has to do with a personal headcanon and exercise in irony._


	16. Infected

_GAA! Almost forgot to upload this! I blame my cold._

* * *

 **Chapter 16 - Infected**

The church sat empty except for Tifa and a very embarrassed Cole. Not because of his earlier collapse, he had started to get used to those, but because of his current state of undress. And Tifa's proximity to certain parts.

"I can bandage it myself."

"Yes, I noticed." Tifa cut the gauze wrapped around his leg from the roll and secured the loose end. "There. This way maybe we'll only have to burn the bandages instead of them and your pants."

And boxers. Cole held the towel preserving what little dignity he had left a little tighter around his waist. "So, uh, I can get dressed?"

Tifa giggled. "Sure. Just let me give you some privacy."

Once outside, the other kids bombarded her with questions. "Is Cole okay?" "Where did Cloud go?" "Why was he acting so scary?" "Was it a really bad attack?" "Can we see him?"

"Tifa!"

She looked up from the pint-sized throng to see Yuffie racing toward her. Once the little ninja skidded to a stop, she had to bend over and just breath with her hands on her knees.

"Was just... at the station. The one in Sector Seven, ya know? The kids there said that three of them have been missing since yesterday and while I was there I heard this loud crash and some kinda creepy scream coming from the ruined sector. I totally would've handled it myself, but even I can't fight off monsters and drag around a bunch of kids at the same time so I figured I better get you and Cloud."

"Cloud was just here!" Amy pointed back at the church. Her brother nodded his head along with his moogle.

Marlene nodded, too. "He ran in and then Cole got sick."

Thorn's eyes were huge. "And then he left really fast!"

Tifa had a horrible feeling it was all connected somehow. "Everyone, once Cole's done I want you to go to Elmyra's. Make sure the older kids get there, too. Barret should still be around back working on the generator. Tell him where we've gone and stay there until we get back, okay?"

"Daddy won't like staying behind."

"I know, Marlene, but he'll understand. Someone has to scare away the monsters."

Marlene's face lit up. "Yeah! And Daddy's really, really scary!"

Tifa managed to maintain her smile until Yuffie pulled her out of sight of the kids.

 _Cloud. Please be okay._

*7*7*

He recognized this pain. The burn slipping under his skin and stabbing at his brain. The voice in his head.

 _So you came on your own. I'm touched, Cloud._

"I came for the kids."

 _Did you? Then it looks like you've failed. Again._

He kept his eyes closed but the images forced their way through. The boys stumbled through the ruins of Sector Seven. He almost breathed a sigh of relief on seeing Tifa and Yuffie appear around a pile of masonry.

Until Tifa felt the smaller boy's forehead and her hand came away black with pus.

 _You see, Cloud? Your efforts are meaningless. Their bitterness and hatred for the world will grow and soon they will enter the Lifestream. Choking it. Bringing it under my control._

"We'll stop you."

 _All you can accomplish is to delay the inevitable._

He tried not to consider that it might be true. The long black teeth of doubt sank deep into him.

 _Your stuggles will only prolong their suffering._

He couldn't listen. Last time he gave in to the voice he only hurt his friends more.

 _All the Cetra together could only delay Mother for a short time. You only have a half-Cetra who barely understands what little power she has._

He felt himself sinking deeper. The images forced through his eyelids shifted to show the black Lifestream spreading in ripples and threads across the planet.

 _There is no cure. This planet is mine and soon I will use it as a vessel to roam the cosmos as Mother did long ago._

"We won't let you." Even to him the words sounded weak.

Dark laughter shuddered through him.

 _You will see._

The pressure around him faded, leaving behind pebbly concrete and stale air. Light glowed red through his eyelids.

"Hey! Where'd the black squid thing go?"

 _Yuffie?_

"Cloud? Where are you?"

 _Tifa?_

He pushed himself up onto his elbows. Looking around, he identified his location as somewhere just under the plate. Above, he could hear footsteps. Tifa and Yuffie were drawing closer.

Pain lanced through his left arm, causing him to curl in on himself.

"Tifa! I found him!"

He forced his body to uncurl. He wouldn't give them any more cause to worry.

Another jolt of pain, but he kept his reaction down to a wince.

Yuffie slid down one of the tangled masses of wire and piping before landing next to him. "You big jerk! Didn't you hear us calling for you?"

Cloud took a breath and coughed. "Sorry."

"You better be! What're you doing down here, anyway?" Yuffie spun around, stalking the small area under the hole with her fists on her tiny hips. "Ugh. And I though topside was a wreck."

A familiar face blocked part of the light from the hole. "Cloud! Are you all right? Do you need help getting out?"

"He's fine! Just a little damp!" Yuffie jumped back up to one of the larger knots before glancing back down at him. "Come on. This place is gloomy."

Climbing hurt his arm, but he refused to show any reaction. His determination to keep the injury secret hardened with the look of worry on Tifa's face.

Her eyes went straight to his left arm. "What is that?"

He'd caught glimpses of the sticky sheen on his sleeve on the way up but refused to look directly at it. "Just monster blood." He strode past without looking directly at her. "Sorry to worry you."

A hand-small, hard, delicate, calloused-tried to reach for him. He jerked away muttering about a bath.

*7*7*

In the library of Cosmo Canyon, Kunsel helped Elder Hargo replace books that had been returned to the desk. Or slipped back onto the shelves in the wrong place.

Kunsel glanced down at one of the volumes he held, a short identification guide to the fauna of Gaea. "I've been meaning to ask about Nanaki. He never did tell us what his species is called."

Hargo chuckled. "I imagine he wouldn't. Humans have a few names for his kind, mostly 'beast' or 'talking beast.' In his own tongue there is a word but we can't pronounce it and it translates simply as 'people.'" He squinted at the spine of a book for a moment before setting it aside. "It is the same for us. Human and man are related words and both ultimately mean 'person.' Most do not know the history of their own language, so it is easy to forget."

"So 'Cetra' means person in their own language?"

"I do not know." Hargo handed him another book and pointed to one of the upper shelves. "Some scholars believe that term properly refers to a single group among their race rather than the race as a whole. We know they had several languages but only a small number of translated works from one of those languages exist."

Kunsel glared at the stacks before him. "So even if they had a cure the chances that we could read it are low." The phone call he made earlier hadn't helped much, either. Zack and Aerith had already found geostigma's source but were no closer to even treating the symptoms, never mind a cure.

It really did look hopeless.

Kunsel scratched his chest. "Do you have any more of that tea left?"

"Of course. After we're done with this row I'll warm some up."

* * *

 _I am not being kind to Cloud. I'm not being particularly kind to anyone right now, but Cloud is the most obvious in this chapter. The man is an idiot, part of which comes with being male another part just comes from being Cloud. I'm a little disturbed by how much I enjoy coming up with Sephiroth's part in all this._


	17. Off the Grid

**Chapter 17 - Off The Grid**

Rain drove most people around Midgar to find shelter by the middle of the afternoon. Aerith's church didn't have much roof left, so Tifa herded the kids into Elmyra's house. Most of them had stayed nearby since the earlier scare, anyway.

While the house was nicely furnished for a slum residence, it still hadn't been build with the idea of housing a little over a dozen people.

By the time Cloud returned, dripping wet and covered in mud from the knees down, the kids were working on Barret's last nerve.

The huge man sighed, nearly crushing the unsuspecting arm chair he dropped into when the kids ran for Cloud. He knew he should've felt sorry for the chocobo-head, but he didn't have the energy.

"Cloud, do you want to play with us?"

"Can you tell us a story?"

"Tifa won't let us in the kitchen because she's cooking and Barret's being grumpy."

"And Tifa won't let us do any of the things Yuffie suggests."

"You're all muddy. Can we play in the mud, too?"

"Yeah!"

Cloud was saved from further inquiry by Tifa's voice.

"Supper's ready! Everyone wash up!"

The waist high mob raced for the stairs just in time to be almost trampled by the stampeding teenagers coming down. Somehow, Tifa managed to herd everyone to where they were supposed to be. There weren't enough chairs so a lot of the kids had a picnic on the floor. Cloud picked a relatively secluded spot halfway up the stairs.

A little later, Denzel crept up the steps after him.

"Can I sit next to you?"

Cloud shrugged and scooted a little closer to the railing, leaving plenty of room for Denzel on his right.

They both ate in silence for a while after that. Denzel did a bit more fidgeting than eating, though.

"Um, thanks for saving us earlier." Denzel stared up at Cloud while keeping his head slightly bowed.

"It was nothing."

Denzel poked at his food a little longer. "I, um, was wondering if you could teach me how to use a sword?"

"No." Seeing the way Denzel drooped over his plate, Cloud added, "I don't know how to teach. You should talk to Tifa."

"But I want to fight like you!"

Cloud saw something in Denzel's face that made his stomach clench. Something familiar and horrifying. The only thing he could think of was to get away. Fast.

"That's a bad idea." Cloud found the quickest route to the kitchen and dropped off his plate.

Tifa noticed him head outside but assumed he was just making sure there weren't any monsters lurking nearby.

*7*7*

"He's _what_?"

Aerith glanced out the open window from the Fairs' living room. She and most of the other women from the village were busy embroidering a wedding canopy. Well, _they_ were embroidering. _She_ was still working on putting the needle in the right place. Preferably without stabbing herself again.

Zack paced through the yard, one hand holding his phone to his ear and the other running through his hair. "Uh huh? ... Yeah, that does sound like him. ... I already tried that. I think he forgot to charge it again."

By that time Aerith decided that work on the canopy would probably go faster if she didn't help. So she leaned out the window to hear better.

"No, it's nothing urgent. I just wanted to let him know how things are going. ... Great! We're still not a hundred percent sure when the wedding's going to be. It depends on when everyone can get here and how. ... Uh huh. Well, I thought at first we'd have it at the church but everyone here's been working really hard on it. Gongaga tradition, you know? ... You're definitely coming! The kids, too. Everyone. Still not sure how to get in contact with Vincent, though. ... Well, I figured Cid could help with that. We could even get some supplies distributed between the various towns while we're picking people up. ... I know, but he's got to have a little mako left in the engine. Once that stuff's been processed for use as fuel I don't think it'd do the Lifestream much good. ... Exactly! So if you hear from Cloud, tell him to call me. And remind him to keep his phone charged!"

After he hung up, Zack flopped onto his back right below Aerith's window.

Aerith giggled down at him. "Talking to Tifa can't be that exhausting."

"No way." He grinned. "I just like the view from here."

"Oh you!" She swatted at him but couldn't quite reach, so she ended up attacking the air just above his nose.

Zack laughed and caught her hand between both of his. "We're going to be okay."

"Of course we are. Why wouldn't we be?"

Letting her hand slip away, Zack sat up. "Kunsel isn't answering his phone, too."

"And you're worried about him?"

"I _wasn't_." Zack rolled onto his feet facing Aerith before smoothly transitioning into squats. "I just wanted to chat. The call yesterday was a downer. Then Cloud wouldn't pick up. Tifa said he disappeared this morning. Left a note saying he wanted to get his own sword. Left Yuffie's treasure sword behind, too. He could have at least kept it until he found a replacement! After what happened in Junon..." He dropped onto his back again, this time releasing a frustrated growl.

Aerith already had her phone to her ear waiting for someone to pick up. "Elder Hargo! It's Aerith. ... Yes, I'm doing quite well. ... Mm-hmm. ... It's lovely. I was wondering, is Kunsel there? ... Oh no. Zack just tried calling earlier and no one answered. ... Of course, that's perfectly understandable. ... I wouldn't want to be a bother... That's very kind of you. ... Mm-hmm." She slipped one delicate hand over the mouthpiece. "Kunsel's been helping Elder Hargo at the library so he turned his phone off."

"And Elder Hargo has his on?"

"It's the library phone, silly." Aerith's attention snapped back to her cell. "Kunsel! How are you? ... Hmm? Oh, we're fine. Nothing new, really. Zack just thought you could use a little cheering up. ... Well, I thought it would be faster than telling him the number or finding something to write it down on. ... This isn't interrupting _anything_. I've just been learning how much I never want to do embroidery ever again. ... Yes. I much prefer my flowers in the ground where I can talk to them." She glanced over her shoulder. "Oh. I better hand you over to Zack. Mrs. Buros is glaring at me." With a smile and a wink she tossed the phone to Zack and disappeared inside the house.

 _"Don't you have a wedding to plan?"_

Zack grinned. His friend sounded normal. Tired, but normal. "I'd have to call you about that, anyway. Can't set a date if I don't know when the most important guests can be here."

 _"Doesn't matter when it is, I'll be there."_

"Yeah. It'll be great having the gang back together again."

They chatted about nothing in particular for a while until Kunsel pointed out that he still had work to do. By then, Aerith had extracted herself from embroidery work and sat nestled against Zack's side.

"Maybe we should just set a date. I'm sure our friends will make time."

"Yeah, I know." Zack chuckled as he ducked his head, one hand already rubbing his neck. "Never thought I'd be more nervous about this than getting the SOLDIER treatment."

Aerith laughed. "Maybe you'd feel more comfortable if we just ran off and got married at the Gold Saucer?"

"Not a bad idea if you don't mind a marriage license covered in glitter." Zack tilted his head back against the red brick of the wall. "Though I'd sure miss the party. Last time I was at a wedding I was maybe five or six. I'd never seen so much food in one place before."

"Food." Aerith rolled her eyes even as she tried to contain a giggle. "Honestly. But, I was just thinking, how are we going to invite Vincent? He didn't tell anyone where he went and I don't think he has a phone."

Zack cocked his head, eyebrows drawn together in thought. "I hadn't thought of that. If he hasn't decided to go back to sleep then... I don't know. Maybe we could leave a note for him at the cave and another one at the mansion?"

"Hmm. It's a thought." Aerith tapped the side of her chin with one finger. "Or I could try finding him through the Lifestream."

"No! Not going to happen. There's no way you're going in there again unless you absolutely have to."

She leaned against him, eyes soft and both hands holding and stroking his left. "I need practice. You know that."

Zack sighed and pulled her in closer. "Maybe later."

* * *

 _I'm pretty sure most of you have guessed that Cloud left for a reason other than the one he gave. At least he gave a reason this time, right?_

 _Right?_

 _Now to figure out where Vincent is. That could take a while._


	18. Messages

**Chapter 18 - Messages**

The wind never stopped howling this deep in the mountains. Of all the places to try building a resort. No wonder it failed. Not that anyone could simply decide where hot springs would turn up.

Cloud collapsed in the relative warmth of the derelict bath house. Apparently in order to feel completely, down-to-the-bones exhausted he had to jog across 'impassable' mountains.

The things he did to get a good night's sleep.

Not just that. He'd been here once before. When he first met Zack. He couldn't remember what the mission had been for, exactly, but hadn't Zack said something about his mentor? Being in that place, bits and pieces of memory came back to him, some of it his own and a little of it Zack's.

There had been two men, SOLDIERs, one with a black wing and another with a white wing. Something about Jenova and degradation.

He also seemed to remember both men dying on that mission.

Cloud swore under his breath. He wouldn't find a cure here. If he stayed, then it would just be to die somewhere quiet and unseen. The idea felt tempting, and the area had the added benefit of no cell phone reception.

It wasn't like he had a better chance of finding a cure than Kunsel or Aerith.

He huffed and rolled to his feet. The modifications made to his body meant cold didn't bother him as much as it used to, and as a native of Nibelheim he'd always handled cold better than most, but he still wanted to find a less exposed spot.

There had been a greenhouse further in. It had been one of the more comfortable areas six years ago, maybe it still was.

*7*7*

 _"Hey, it's Zack. Just wanted to let you know Aerith and I are getting married. I'd ask you to be best man, but Gongagan weddings don't work like that. Anyway, just wanted to talk and ask when you're available. Still haven't set a date."_

 _"Cloud, where are you? Zack called and he sounded worried. He said there wasn't anything wrong but I think he was just saying that so I wouldn't worry. Please call us when you can."_

 _"Pick up the phone, you jerk! No way it takes this long to find a stupid sword. Zack and Aerith won't get married if you aren't there and it's soooo booooring here without them. Not that I'm looking forward to them being all gooey with each other. Ugh. I really hope I don't have to wear a dress or anything. I haven't even worn a kimono in_ _ **years**_ _. You better return this call, Chocobo-head, or I'll-"_

 _"Tifa here. Just wanted to know how you are. Any luck finding a sword? Did you get any of our messages? Aerith called the other day. I think she's starting to worry. The kids are doing fine and ask about you a lot, especially Denzel. Talk to you later, okay?"_

 _"Where the * &#$ are ya? Word is y're lookin' for a new sword 'cept I know that ain't true 'cause I know the best metal workers in the world and ya haven't contacted me. Didn't tell anyone 'cause I didn't want 'em to worry but start answerin' yer $#&^ phone before I organize a search party! I don't have time for this #^*$ so if I havta go lookin' fer ya I'm gonna be #&$ , ya hear!"_

Cloud nearly blanched at the last message. A search party, especially one led by an irate Cid, was the last thing he needed.

A spasm took hold of his left arm, forcing him to drop the phone rather than have it crushed. The second one that day. Cloud grit his teeth as he checked the bandages. At least this time didn't come with flashbacks or Sephiroth's voice.

He'd just found a spot with almost-reception high up on a maintenance building that looked painfully familiar that morning. It was enough to access voice mail but not enough to contact anyone with any reliability.

The phone blinked, indicating he still had one unaccessed message. He picked the phone up with his right hand and pressed play.

 _"Kunsel here. I think I know the real reason why you haven't contacted anyone this week and I understand. You're an idiot, but I understand. I'll also personally drag you to Zack's wedding if you don't call someone. I might, anyway."_

The message left Cloud uncertain whether to recoil in horror or snort in amusement, so he ended up just frozen in place with the phone next to his ear. Finally, he managed to shake his head and jump down to one of the still almost-heated areas of the bath house.

Whether he went to the wedding or not, and part of him knew that he would, he had to find a spot with better phone reception.

*7*7*

Aerith watched Zack chop wood from the kitchen door. Most, all, of the men used the ax with two hands. Zack held it in one hand so the other could grab another block of wood.

"Kunsel said he'd be here some time in the evening. Cid will be picking up everyone else."

"Yeah?" Zack leaned the ax against the chopping block and stretched. "Any word from Vincent?"

Aerith shook her head. "Though we haven't exactly kept the wedding a secret. Vincent was a Turk, if he wants to come, he will."

Which was what Kunsel had said when she talked to him, among other things. She didn't like going behind Zack's back, and Kunsel hadn't exactly liked the idea, either, but both agreed they had to try something. And if she had conveniently neglected to mention the risk involved, then it just meant one less person had to worry about her.

Assuming it all went smoothly.

"Everyone seems quite happy with the date, especially your mom." Aerith raised an eyebrow in Zack's direction.

He grinned sheepishly as he rubbed the back of his head. "Well, it's spring, the season of, ah, fertility."

Aerith hid both her giggle and her red cheeks ineffectively behind a danty hand.

*7*7*

Dusk had settled in a comforting, dark, warm blanket around the little village of Gongaga by the time Kunsel slipped quietly into the Fair family home. Aerith and her mother had returned to the Buros's by then, a Gongagan bride could sleep with her groom once the engagement was official but tradition insisted on some separation as the wedding date neared. The Fairs were still up finishing their chores before bed.

Zack beamed and pulled his friend into a bear hug before the door closed. "Kunsel! Man, it's good to see you!"

"Ow! Put me down, you big lug!" Kunsel gasped when his feet reconnected with the floor and he massaged his ribs. "Yeah, glad to see you, too."

"You've been spending too much time in the library." Zack shook his head in mock exasperation. "I'm going to have to get you back in shape starting tomorrow. _Early_ tomorrow." His grin promised a lot more pain than bruised ribs.

Dan chuckled from across the room. "Good. You can both do my chores while I sleep in."

"Wha... Dad!"

Kunsel waited until he was alone to collapse on the couch.

*7*7*

Aerith arrived promptly after breakfast. Once she greeted everyone, she glanced around the living room. "Tell me you at least packed an overnight bag."

"Behind the couch." Kunsel jerked his head in that direction. "Want to make sure I packed my toothbrush?"

"Now that you mention it, I think I will." Aerith's smile turned mischievous as she crouched next to the partially hidden duffle. She easily found the small bag Kunsel had brought for her and slipped it into the many folds of her skirt. No one noticed because no one looked.

"Well, everything seems in order." She pushed the duffle back before standing. "Anything else I can help with?"

Minny shook her head. "The boys have 'volunteered' for all the morning chores."

Aerith giggled. "Oh really? In that case I better get out of the way." She only smiled sweeter when Zack started pouting.

She already had a spot picked out for her plan. One of the paths out of the village led to a plateau next to a bouncing waterfall. It was picturesque, isolated, and full of life despite having little of the greenery Gongaga was known for. She suspected any teenagers who stayed home came here to make out.

Her reasons were different but the locational needs were the same. She knelt with her back to a protruding rock and opened the bag.

Ten summon materia shined up at her.

She picked up Odin first as he looked almost human and felt like one of the older summons. Her hands cupped around the materia and eyes closed, she reached out to the memory inside the stone.

 _"Youngest, why do you not call me into battle?"_

"There is no one to fight here, Lord of the Hunt. My purpose is to ask you some questions."

 _"Then ask and I will answer if it is within my power to do so."_

"Is there a way to fight the sickness that holds the planet?"

 _"Yes, but I do not know what it is."_

Hope and disappointment almost shattered Aerith's concentration. "Do you know who would?"

 _"Not for certain. The Queen of Ice or the Water God, perhaps."_

"Thank you, Lord of the Hunt. Another thing I wish to ask. My beloved, someone within the Lifestream referred to him as 'champion.'"

The summon remained silent long enough for Aerith to wonder if she would receive an answer at all.

 _"She has done it, then."_

"Who? Who has done what?"

 _"The All-Mother, Planet's Will, she has set her wheel in motion."_

"What wheel?"

 _"Ragnarok."_

Aerith had no idea what that word meant, but it sent a chill up her spine. "What is Zack's, I mean, the Champion's role?"

 _"I do not know. Only that great destruction will come so that the planet may be cleansed."_

That did not bode well. "Is it coming soon?"

 _"I do not know."_

"Who would know?"

 _"The All-Mother."_

Not helpful. Aerith took two deep, calming breaths. She had to stay focused and remember her secondary goal, her promise to Kunsel. "Thank you, Lord of the Hunt. There is but one more thing that I wish to ask of you. It concerns a friend, born and bred near your resting place."

 _"There have been many such who have passed through the mountains."_

"This one is different. I have sensed a deep history in him and..." Aerith struggled to find a way to describe him that Odin would recognize. "There are fractures in his soul."

 _"Tainted."_ The venom in that one word startled Aerith, almost to the point of breaking the connection. _"One of mine stolen by the Calamity."_

"No, no. He doesn't serve it. He's a friend."

 _"He is one of the fallen. Even now I sense the corruption growing in him, controlling him. He has abandoned his duty, he has forgotten his purpose."_

"It's not his fault! Please, I beg of you, Lord of the Hunt, he wants to know but we haven't been able to find any answers for him."

 _"Tell him he is outcast. No wolf may serve me while under the Calamity's thrall."_

"Wolf?" But Aerith could already tell that Odin wouldn't answer. He had retreated so far into his stone that it no longer glowed. She hadn't even realized summons could do that.

Hopefully she'd have an easier time with Shiva.

* * *

 _You don't mind a longer chapter, do you? I thought about cutting this one off at the previous scene break, but that would make the chapter almost a full screen shorter (on my computer) than my goal and this was such a nice end point. Before anyone goes off about this turning into a werewolf story, remember that summons speak in images and poetically descriptive phrases. Taking Odin literally isn't advised._


	19. Help

**Chapter 19 - Help**

Cloud stood at the crossroad just outside Gongaga trying to gather his courage, what was left of it. His arm burned the closer he got to his friends.

 _You do not deserve friends._

"Shut up."

It didn't matter that he agreed, he just didn't want to hear it in Sephiroth's voice.

Gongaga looked like someone had tried to recreate the Gold Saucer in flowers and streamers. The mix of bright colors almost blinded Cloud. He stood blinking in the middle of the road. A perfect target.

"Cloud!"

Ran and Lynnet barreled into him before dragging him toward the Fair house. Cloud fought back the urge to cry out at the pain lancing up his left arm. Ran held his left hand and pulled harder and harder. Black flashed across his vision. His muscles tensed. He heard both kids shout in surprise. Then he knew nothing.

*7*7*

He awoke to blue and something soft under his back. Blinking, he turned and managed to focus on a poster of a knight riding a gold chocobo.

"You didn't tell me."

Cloud winced at the disapproval evident in Zack's tone. He didn't dare turn to look.

"Why? We've been through this! I bet you weren't even looking for a new sword. Were you planning to die? Don't you trust us?"

Cloud wanted nothing more than a hole to open up and swallow him. "It's not that."

"Then what is it?"

That required some thought. "I can't help. If I'm no use to my friends I can at least stay out of the way."

"Look at me."

Cloud flinched but did, slowly, turn to look at his friend. Zack leaned against an old dresser with a variety of wooden and metal toys piled on top. He had his arms crossed over his chest and frowned down at Cloud.

"You aren't in the way and you _can_ help. If nothing else, you're an awesome babysitter. The kids love you. I'm pretty sure Denzel worships the ground you walk on."

Cloud hid his grimace by keeping his head down while he rolled to sit at the edge of the bed. "They shouldn't."

Zack clasped Cloud's right shoulder to avoid aggravating the sores on his left arm. "Well they do, so you better get used to it. Seriously, man, what's it going to take to convince you that we care?"

"Nothing. That's the problem." Cloud stood, shrugging off Zack's hand. "You deserve to be happy. You, Aerith, Tifa, everyone. Even Barret. That won't happen if you have to watch me die."

"And how do you think we'd feel if you get yourself killed before we find a cure?"

Cloud raised apprehensive eyes. "You think there is one?"

Zack smiled. "I know there is. Aerith sa..."

"Don't tell me!" Shaking, Cloud collapsed to his knees, his head squeezed between his hands.

"Cloud!" Zack crouched in front of his friend with his hands reaching out.

"DON'T TOUCH ME!"

He heard Zack hit something wooden, probably the dresser from the cracking sound. He knew he ran out of the house but didn't know if he'd opened any doors along the way. He thought he overturned a pastry stall based mostly on the smell of cakes that followed him.

 _"Nothing but a puppet."_

 _Shut up._

 _I have to protect them._

 _I'll hurt them if I stay._

 _I'll hurt them if I leave._

 _Run._

 _Stop._

 _I can't._

Images flashed before his eyes. Zack laying face-down in a pool of geostigma puss. Aerith hanging limp in his arms, blood dripping from her mouth. The children crying thick, black tears.

Tifa, bloody and beaten, shivering in fear of him.

He heard himself scream before the darkness took over.

*7*7*

He heard water drip and echo as if in a vast dome of crystal. Somehow the sound reminded him of laughter, a particular someone who was important.

He didn't hurt, he didn't feel anything but peace, but that sound reminded him that he couldn't stay. He had something he had to do.

 _It's okay._

*7*7*

Cloud blinked several times before the fuzzy blur above him turned into Aerith's face. She was smiling at him.

"How do you feel?"

He opened his mouth to say 'fine' and realized that he really _did_ feel fine. His arm didn't hurt. He sat up so fast he nearly hit Aerith's nose. In a single motion he ripped off his sleeve and the bandages around his upper arm.

The black sores remained.

"I haven't found a cure yet." Aerith folded her hands in her lap, keeping her eyes on the ground. "I can ease the pain for a little while, but for now that's all I can do."

"It's fine." Cloud tried to tuck the torn edge of his sleeve back into the arm hole. He'd have to borrow a needle and thread later. "You did a good job."

"But it's not enough, is it?"

She sounded bitter. Aerith never sounded bitter. Cloud jolted at her words and tone, staring as if he expected her to morph into some terrifying monster. Aerith simply matched his stare with an accusatory one of her own.

"What? Did you think you had a monopoly on guilt? I can tell you right now that you don't."

Cloud hung his head, looking too much like a little boy being scolded. "I know, but..."

Aerith stuck a dainty finger in his face. "No buts. All of us have things we can and can't do. We've all made mistakes. And if you're blaming yourself for getting sick, let me tell you right now that it's not your fault. All SOLDIERs are more likely to get it."

Cloud held back a gasp but couldn't keep himself from staring at Aerith again, this time with a slightly different kind of horror. "Zack?"

"Not yet." Aerith shook her head. "There was a SOLDIER in Junon who died of it and... he hasn't said anything, but I think Kunsel might be sick, too."

The relief he felt at hearing that Zack was okay turned to bitter guilt as Aerith spoke. His eyes drifted down to the ground. Of course Zack wasn't sick, he should have asked about Kunsel. He should have _thought_ about Kunsel. Until Aerith brought it up, he hadn't even considered either of them getting sick. He'd been selfish.

And if Kunsel was sick the same way Cloud was...

"Where is he?"

"Which one?"

"Kunsel. I... There's something I need to talk to him about."

Aerith tapped the side of her chin with one finger. "I'm not sure. Mr. Fair would probably know."

Without another word, Cloud stood and walked back toward the village.

*7*7*

By the time Cloud found someone who could point him in Kunsel's direction he'd given up trying to keep the sleeve in place. Everyone knew, anyway. He rebandaged his arm but otherwise made no effort to hide. Maybe if people saw it they'd avoid him. It'd be better if they did.

He and Kunsel ended up almost running into each other just outside the ruined reactor. Kunsel was carrying a young goat.

"Oh, Cloud. You're..." Kunsel glanced down at Cloud's arm. "So you've got it."

Cloud gave a curt nod. "You already knew when you called me."

Kunsel shrugged with the arm that wasn't holding a goat and started walking back to the village, Cloud following in his wake. "I guessed. You're kinda predictable and I knew you wouldn't abandon your post unless you thought you were putting everyone in danger by staying or you were afraid of being pitied. Possibly both."

"I am putting everyone in danger." Cloud glared at the ground for a moment before glancing up at Kunsel. "Have you heard... him?"

"Him?" Kunsel frowned.

Cloud took a deep breath. For the first time in weeks he didn't feel that dark presence in the back of his mind. "Sephiroth."

Kunsel stopped. If not for the goat, which had started bleating, Kunsel might have looked intimidating as he stared at Cloud. "And you can?"

Cloud jerked his chin down. "He's in my head again. That's why I can't stay. Even if I can resist, he's still there."

"And he can see and hear everything you do."

Cloud managed an actual nod.

Kunsel adjusted his grip again and resumed walking. "Have you told anyone else?"

Cloud shook his head.

Kunsel resisted rolling his eyes, but a huff still escaped his nose. "Well, as flattered as I am to have your confidence, I think the others should know. We might be able to do something."

Cloud shook his head again. "Aerith, maybe, but I won't put her in that kind of danger."

"You and Zack are too alike in some ways. I don't want her in danger, either, but have you considered that maybe solving your problem is connected to curing geostigma?"

Cloud's eyes widened until his head grew heavy with what looked like guilt or shame. "Sephiroth is trying to return. Somehow, he's going to use me to do it."

"Again. Which means something has gone missing in his transition to planetary scourge. The 'Great Sephiroth' wouldn't have made such a basic tactical error." Kunsel could see a protest coming and raised his free hand to stop it. "I know. Sephiroth can hear this. This information isn't the sort that has to be kept secret. It does give me a few ideas, though."

"You shouldn't tell me what they are. I'm a liability."

Kunsel had to adjust his hold on the goat again before speaking. "You _were_ a liability. I'm actually surprised Sephiroth hasn't tried to interfere in the conversation yet."

Cloud rubbed the bandage covering his left bicep. "I think maybe he can't. Aerith... did something... to take away the pain. It could be messing with Sephiroth's influence, too."

"Oh." Kunsel looked surprised for less than a second before the young goat's squirming drew his attention again. "Seriously? What's your problem?"

"I think you're holding it wrong."

Kunsel pressed the goat into Cloud's arms. "So you take it, country boy."

After a bit of fumbling (the goat didn't appreciate the transfer and Cloud wasn't entirely sure what he was doing) he got the goat's legs tucked up against his chest with one arm supporting it from below and the other wrapped around its head and back. With the goat settled, if not entirely happy, they continued on toward where Kunsel said the rest of the herd was.

* * *

 _Cloud gets a clue-by-four to the face courtesy of his friends. He's still got a ways to go before he's over his many issues. These things don't cure themselves overnight, after all. And the wedding is fast approaching! Yay!_


	20. Long Time Coming

**Chapter 20 - Long Time Coming**

The next two days passed in a blur of sugar and painted ribbons. Aerith kept Tifa so busy weaving flower crowns, trying out fabric, and otherwise helping with last minute preparations that she had no time to think about Cloud or his problems. At first Yuffie had helped, but soon grew bored and fell back on her usual habit of bothering everyone about possible materia stashes. The orphan girls had a lot of fun putting up streamers. Or simply running around with them, depending on the mood.

The boys kept busy in other ways, though Tifa didn't know any details. She barely saw any of them until the wedding. Aerith had far too much fun using her as a paper-doll. By the time they were both dressed, Aerith looked like an angel and Tifa felt like a trussed chocobo.

"Are you sure the corset is necessary?"

"It's really more of a bodice, and yes! Otherwise the skirt and blouse would fall apart."

"We could find a smaller blouse, one that isn't quite so... roomy."

"That's how it's supposed to be! Mrs. Fair will tell you the same thing once she comes in to finish up."

Tifa blinked. "Finish? But aren't we dressed?"

"You are. I'm just wearing the base. Apparently there's a bit of a ceremony involved with 'arming' a Gongagan bride." Aerith giggled as she opened the door just wide enough to stick her head out and call for Minny Fair.

The lady in question gushed the moment she stepped into the room. "You're both so lovely! Tifa, I just _knew_ that shade of red would suit you."

Tifa felt her face go red, though not nearly the dark crimson of her bodice. She resisted the urge to cover her bare shoulders. "I'm still not sure about the blouse."

"Whatever for?" Minny's smile turned almost evil. "I have a shawl you can borrow, but you shouldn't wear it the entire time. Certainly not once you find someone to dance with." She pulled a worn wooden chest into the room and closed the door. "Enough of that, now. We have work to do."

*7*7*

Near the edge of the jungle lay a little stone shrine to Minerva that hadn't been used in decades except by a very few of the oldest villagers. A lot of people didn't even know it existed until that week. By special request of the Fairs, the shrine was cleaned and a space cleared in front of it for every chair and thing-that-could-be-used-as-a-chair in the village. Yuffie found a stick and a couple pieces of paper to fold into a crude heisoku. She ran around the site waving her stick while the villagers were cleaning.

Alice finally managed to grab the younger girl. "Are you going to play or help?"

"I am helping!" Yuffie shoved the heisoku in Alice's face, rattling the strips of paper together. "I'm driving away any evil spirits that might've nested here while you let this shrine rot."

"Not sure Gongagan spirits are going to recognize a Wutanese exorcism."

Yuffie sniffed. "Doesn't matter so long as it works, and this works. I've seen my cousin do this loads of times."

"On Wutanese spirits." At least now Alice was smiling, though it looked more like a smirk.

"Yeah. So? My shuriken was made in Wutai but it works on monsters from all over. Same goes for exorcisms." Yuffie bounced to get a look at the shrine over Alice's shoulder. "I'm gonna need some sake, too. Or whatever your best booze is."

"Are you even old enough to drink?"

"Yes! What is wrong with you people who've lived under ShinRa so long? There are rules for everything! And it's not for me, it's for purifying the shrine. Gods!" With that, she stalked off muttering something about finding someone old.

*7*7*

Zack glared at Kunsel and Cloud. "Not one word."

Kunsel had to bite his mouth shut. Cloud, on the other hand, barely seemed affected by the strange sight in front of them. For there stood Zack in a blindingly white shirt with poofy sleeves, a dark vest delicately embroidered all over in gold, matching baggy trousers that were tied off just below the knees with tassels, white stockings, and red shoes sporting huge pom-poms.

Uncle Phil looked between all three boys as he dusted off a black beret with a pom-pom stuck in the middle. "What's the matter? Gongagan men have worn clothes like these for generations."

The strain proved too much. With a muffled squeak, Kunsel excused himself from the room.

Cloud glanced at the door then shrugged. "I should show him some traditional Nibel clothes sometime."

Zack nearly doubled over laughing.

*7*7*

Barret sulked at the stupid clown-suit he'd been stuffed into. At least the worst part was over, it had taken forever finding something that'd fit. Cid had stopped laughing maybe a minute ago in favor of swearing at his phone.

"Ya better hope ya don' find the camera fun'tion."

Cid waved him off. "There're gonna be photos at the weddin', anyway. Jes' wanted ta get a shot o' yer face."

Barret managed to look even more grumpy. "All this fuss over gettin' hitched. Half the reason Myrna an' I eloped."

On the other side of the room, Reeve stood up from adjusting a child's vest on Cait. "Oh? What was the other half?"

"Myrna's folks paid us to. She had an older sister an' her weddin' was so stressful her ma di'n' wanna go through another one." Barret glared at the ruffled ends of his sleeves. "Think I'm startin' ta see her point."

Mr. Buros burst into the room with a broad smile on his face. "We're all ready, folks! Time to get this party started."

*7*7*

The pain dampening of Aerith's spell had lasted most of a day. Cloud hadn't gone back to Aerith for another reprieve, he didn't want to risk Sephiroth trying something to prevent it. So he sat in the front row, stiff, tense, with his face in an emotionless mask as he focused on not disrupting the ceremony.

At least until Tifa appeared in his peripheral vision. Coherent thought left him for several seconds, followed by a suspicion that Aerith had something to with this. Tifa was naturally distracting, but the stiff fabric hugging her waist, the skirts flowing over her hips and swishing with every move of her long legs, the loose ruffles over her breasts, her bare shoulders...

It took every ounce of willpower Cloud had not to stare like an addled teenager. Willpower he didn't need for anything else since the rest of his brain was completely occupied with the vision across the aisle from him.

Which, he realized in some small functioning part of his brain, was probably _why_ Aerith picked out that dress for Tifa.

*7*7*

Zack almost forgot how to breath as Barret escorted Aerith toward the canopied shrine. Gold bracelets on her wrists and ankles tinkled along with the ring of coins around her head. A pale pink shawl draped over her shoulders, the tasseled ends brushing the floral embroidery of her dress. A white veil hid her face and hair, not that he particularly noticed that detail.

The old priest shook a cluster of goat bells at the end of a staff once Aerith reached her spot beside Zack. "To good fortune. May this match flourish and grow like a verdant garden. He who finds a wife finds good and draws favor from the gods." He then picked up a role of paper. "With the sky and earth as witnesses, these are the terms which were discussed and agreed upon between these two parties. The venerable and eminent Phil Fair who is on the side of Zack Fair, the groom."

Zack chuckled a bit at Uncle Phil being called 'venerable,' which earned him an elbow to the ribs from said uncle.

"On the other side, the venerable and eminent Elmyra Gainsborrough, who is on the side of Aerith Gainsborrough, the bride."

Elmyra looked a bit put out at the term but said nothing as she stepped closer to her daughter.

"Firstly, the aforementioned groom will marry the aforementioned bride, in good fortune, with a ceremony according to the customs of Gongaga and appropriate offering to the gods. They will not flee nor hide one from the other. They will exert equal control over their property and will dwell together with love and affection as is the societal norm."

Elmyra and Phil knelt before the shrine to present their offerings. Elmyra placed a small cloth packet of seeds on the stone slab, a messily scrawled Wutanese symbol for 'fertility' adorning one side. Yuffie had insisted that earth spirits loved that sort of thing. Phil presented the goddess with a rare mako stone he and Zack had found a few days ago.

The priest went on to specify the other contractual obligations, exchange of goods, and accommodations if the terms could not be met. "Now on this day, the seventh day of the third month of the eighth year of the current era, we witnesses do acknowledge the fulfillment of this contract by signing below."

Once the priest, Elmyra, and Phil signed, the priest rolled up the contract and tucked it up one sleeve. "Now the groom presents his gift as a symbol of his dedication."

Zack almost forgot about that part. Phil handed the simple, pure gold ring to him, smirking as the powerful SOLDIER fumbled to slip it on Aerith's finger.

Once that was finally accomplished, the priest presented the couple with a tray holding two cups. "Now you newly-wed drink and be merry for you start a new journey together."

Aerith nearly knocked the entire tray over, the veil wasn't entirely translucent from her side. She quickly gave up, flipped the veil out of the way (to more than one whistle from the audience, quickly silenced by Zack's glare), and grasped her cup with both hands.

The moment both cups touched their mouths the entire population of Gongaga burst into cheers.

*7*7*

"Zack."

The man nearly jumped out of his skin. Of course Vincent would appear late in the evening at the one time Zack was separated from the festivities. "When did you arrive?"

"This morning." Vincent materialized out of the shadows beside him. "My apologies for not approaching you earlier but the atmosphere left me... uncomfortable."

"This your way of saying you don't like parties?" Zack grinned.

Vincent barely hesitated before inclining his head in what passed for a nod with him. "There is another reason for my being here. I've been tracking the spread of geostigma and its effects..."

Zack held up a hand. "We already know Sephiroth's behind it."

For a moment Vincent almost looked surprised. The moment passed before Zack could be certain it happened. Vincent dipped his chin further into the collar of his cloak before speaking again.

"There is something else. The disease is concentrated in two areas. Midgar, of course, but the heaviest concentration by population is on the Northern Continent."

Zack nodded as he turned back to the dimming twilight. "Guess we're going to have to check it out."

* * *

 _As much as we'd like Zack and Aerith to have a relaxing honeymoon, you know that couldn't happen. The universe may give them a small break once in a while, but then it's straight back to world saving! In case you didn't notice, I had some fun with Yuffie this chapter. She doesn't do anything by halves. Everything is at full force and full volume!_

 _Note on the wedding: I borrowed_ _ **heavily**_ _from traditional Jewish custom for that scene, including a near word-for-word quote from a translated Jewish marriage contract. Yeah, it does sound a lot like a business transaction. Mostly because it kinda is._


	21. Snag

**Chapter 21 - Snag**

The people of Gongaga, Nanaki decided, were good humans. They were understandably startled when they first found out he could talk, but just like his friends, they got over it quickly and treated him like a person. Mostly. He had to explain several times that there were very few people allowed to pet him and the few children in attendance kept trying to sneak him vegetables and other unwanted foods. Not that he complained much at the latter.

One of the people allowed to pet him burst out of the crowd to wrap him in a hug. As always, she smelled of fresh earth and flowers.

"I'm so glad you could make it! Sorry I didn't greet you earlier, things have been a bit crazy."

"There is no need for apologies. I've been avoiding your scent up till now."

Aerith gave him a hard frown. "Now why would you do that?"

"Well..." Nanaki's ears drooped and he looked away. "Your scent was mingled primarily with other females, so I assumed you were following a tradition of remaining separate from male company until the wedding."

She laughed. "In that case, you're forgiven. Have you seen Tifa?"

Nanaki lifted one paw to the left. "Last I saw her, she and Cloud were attempting not to look at each other. Human mating rituals are quite strange to me."

"They're strange to us, too." Aerith stood and straightened her skirts. "Let's see if we can tear her away for a little while."

*7*7*

They stood three feet apart leaning against a fence near a pastry cart. They had both looked at the same deserts and both decided they weren't hungry. The silence hung between them as heavy and unpleasant as if they were standing next to a compost pit.

Tifa finally shifted. "We missed you back in Midgar. The kids kept asking when you'd come back." She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "They were really happy to see you again."

Cloud nodded at his shoes. "I shouldn't stay long."

"But..." Tifa bolted up only to sag against the fence again. "You don't think there's a cure, do you."

"That's not it. I... There's something I have to do."

"I understand." Except she didn't, she simply couldn't think of anything else to say. What could he possibly have to do that she couldn't help with?

"Tifa!" Aerith swooped in to clutch her arm. "Oh, Cloud, I hope you don't mind but I'm borrowing Tifa for a little while. Girl stuff."

Cloud stared at Aerith then Nanaki. "Girl stuff?"

"I am acting as escort."

Cloud nodded though he still looked confused as they left. Tifa felt much the same way.

"We aren't actually going to do 'girl stuff,' are we?"

Aerith smile would've looked innocent if not for the mischievous twinkle in her eyes. "There's something I want to try while everyone's here."

Tifa frowned, this didn't lessen her confusion at all. "Everyone? But Vincent..."

"Is with Zack." Nanaki raised his eye to the women. "I caught his scent shortly before Aerith greeted me."

Before Tifa could think of a way to get a better explanation, Aerith pulled her down behind a garden hedge.

"All right. Nanaki, sit here, please." Aerith patted the ground to her right. "I'm going into the Lifestream to look for someone. While I'm there, could you both keep physical contact with me? A hand or paw on my shoulder will work, I think."

Tifa glanced back toward the party. "Shouldn't Zack be here for this?"

"Zack can't know, that's why I want to try this with everyone here. We're all connected to each other so I should be able to use those connections as a tether." Aerith folded her hands in front of her breasts. "Going in."

*7*7*

They were so bright. Strands of light radiating out in a web of connected souls. There were so many more than just her friends. Her anchor's family, the sleeping children, those still living and those returned to the Lifestream.

A single golden thread stretched deep into the planet. She held close to that thread, following it in the hope of finding answers. There were more black spots than the last time she'd been there but none of them seemed to notice her. The closest ones seemed more interested in the web behind her.

Maybe one particular spot in the web. It worried her, but she didn't dare investigate while in such a vulnerable state. No, best to stick to the original plan and then get out.

Time had little meaning in that place, yet she felt like she'd been following the thread for ages. The currents grew stronger and thicker the deeper she went. Soon she could barely move.

"Please let me pass. There's someone I have too find."

She got no response.

"Please. This could help a friend and maybe the rest of the planet."

The Lifestream seemed to hesitate. Though she still couldn't move forward, she caught a glimpse of a huge red orb far below.

 _Daughter, turn back._

"No. I need answers. Tell me..."

 _"Tell me how to stop the illness!"_

The Lifestream disappeared. All around her lay the dying remnants of a great forest. Snow sifted through the bare branches overhead.

At first, the world seemed silent. Then she heard chanting to her right. She looked and saw a ghostly procession weaving through the trees. Moments later, the individuals broke from the line as if part of an old folk dance or ritual. Probably the latter considering what happened next.

All at once the people touched an out-stretched palm to a tree. The dying wood silently exploded in shimmering ripples, revealing glowing white crystal underneath. She could feel the magic spread out from the roots to other trees, spreading the effect, filling the air with tiny pyreflies.

The forest at the Forgotten City.

She followed the reformed procession to the spiral shell temple. The chanting didn't stop. She couldn't make out any words, only a feeling of peace that soaked down to the core of her being. As if the entire world was giving her a comforting hug. The pool in front of the temple rippled with the sound.

The chanting stopped the instant she passed through the doorway. Instead of the temple interior she found herself on a street paved with smooth coral. A procession of another kind approached her. Women cloaked in white wailed for the dead. In the center trudged four men carrying a shrouded pallet. The grief and sadness nearly brought her to her knees until an inhuman scream shattered everything.

A woman stumbled away from the procession, her veil slipping to reveal a blue pallor to her skin and hair. Another veiled woman approached her only for the blue one to breath ice at her. More people screamed.

White obstructed her vision. She heard a single drop of water strike a surface and echo. The white became snow. A drop of liquid water fell, rippling through the snow and spraying up more drops. Those drops created more ripples, more drops. A pond formed, then a lake. It wasn't just water, it was Lifestream. All she could see was green and full of life.

The thread she'd followed here appeared nearby.

 _Go._

*7*7*

Vincent disappeared as suddenly and mysteriously as he arrived, which didn't surprise Zack in the slightest. The man had a flare for the dramatic that reminded Zack a little too much of Genesis sometimes. At least Vincent didn't quote old epics.

When he returned to the party he spent a little while looking for Aerith. Yuffie had seen her with Tifa and assumed both were looking for a toilet.

"Or a bush." Yuffie stuffed another one of Mrs. Miron's cream tarts in her mouth. "I don't trust the toilets around here. The last one I used farted at me."

Zack choked on a meat roll. "Uh, near an old equipment shed? Door has a wrench for a handle?"

Yuffie frowned up at him. "Yeah... Why?"

"No reason. Uh, just surprised no one's fixed it yet." Zack grabbed another meat roll and retreated into the crowd.

A moment later, he gasped as something tugged on his soul.

Water everywhere. No. This was mako, Lifestream.

"Aerith." He stumbled back toward his parents' house. "Aer-! Sorry. Excuse me. Aerith!"

Cloud shouldered through to intercept his friend. "Zack? What's going on?"

Zack didn't break stride even as he glanced at Cloud. "Not sure, I just have this feeling that Aerith's in trouble."

"Oh." Cloud slowed. "I should..."

For several seconds, Zack didn't notice that Cloud had trailed off. It took another few seconds for him to realize Cloud had stopped following him then another moment to think and turn around. By that point, he was at the edge of the party. A few paper lanterns glowed blue and orange over the scattered villagers. One villager stood near Cloud, looking uncertain whether to help or not.

Cloud didn't look good. Sweaty, shaky, and he had a death grip on his left arm.

The villager and Zack both took a step toward him at the same time.

"Stay away!" Cloud hunched over as he shied back. "Zack... go. Find Aerith. I'll... I'll be fine."

Zack frowned. "You sure about that? You look kinda... pale."

Unnaturally pale. It could've been the light, but even Cloud's hair seemed drained of color.

Then Cloud lurched forward and Zack saw his hair turn completely white.

"Go!" Cloud's hair regained a little color, but he still looked ready to collapse.

Zack glanced over at the now thoroughly frightened villager. One of the Miron boys, he thought. "Find Kunsel." He only waited long enough to see the younger man nod before dashing off to find Aerith.

He didn't find Aerith. Nanaki found him.

"I ask that you not interrupt while I explain the situation. Aerith requested that Tifa and I assist her with something that required the presence but not the immediate involvement of our friends. She did not explain fully, but I suspect that she's using our bonds of friendship as a tether between her spirit and physical body."

"She went into the Lifestream?!" Zack clenched his fists, resisting the urge to shake Nanaki. "Where is she?"

Nanaki flattened his ears. "Near. I will show you, but please do not disturb her. She has started murmuring words I do not understand." He turned toward a nearby myrtle hedge. "Whether that is a good sign or bad is yet unclear."

As far as Zack was concerned this was all a bad sign.

When they turned the corner of the hedge, Zack saw Aerith kneeling on the grass with Tifa sitting next to her. Tifa's eyes widened when she saw Zack.

"She didn't want to tell you. Please don't be angry with her."

"I'm not." Zack looked away and scratched the back of his head. "Okay, so maybe I am. A little. And angry at myself since she wouldn't be doing this if..." He looked back at Tifa. "I just want to protect her! So she's the only one who can talk to the Lifestream and actually hear a reply, I get that, but there's got to be some other way!"

Tifa found something fascinating on the ground by her knees. "I know how you feel."

Besides Aerith's murmuring, silence hung between them. It hadn't quite gotten awkward when Aerith gasped and pitched forward.

"Aerith!" Zack dove to catch her without a thought. Bare hands touched a bare arm and cheek. Two bodies collapsed onto the dirt.

* * *

 _Bwa-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha! As if their wedding would really go off without a single hitch. At least the snag had the decency to wait for the reception. Now what is Zack going to do? And what's happening with Cloud?_


	22. Terror

**Chapter 22 - Terror**

Cloud stumbled away from the party and away from where Zack and Nanaki had gone. He just hoped he could get well away and out of sight before anyone came looking for him.

 _"You can't run from me, Cloud."_

"Shut up."

The voice in his head just laughed. _"Your struggles are meaningless. The longer you resist the more you have to watch them suffer."_

Cloud grit his teeth against the onslaught of pain radiating from his left arm. He could barely see anything other than green static but he kept stumbling forward regardless. "You're wrong." He fell into what was probably a tree from the smell and bits of woody, mossy dust that filled his mouth and nose. He heard the wood crumple as he gripped it in an effort to right himself. "Even... Even if I lose, Zack'll beat you."

For his defiance, the geostigma in his arm burned deeper. It felt as if something had wrapped around the bones of his arm and twisted hard enough to break. Cloud fell, curled up on the jungle floor unable to move but still refusing to scream.

*7*7*

Zack shook his head. Whatever had happened really packed a wallop. He didn't even remember falling and... Why was the ground covered in sand?

That question came with the ring of metal and thud of feet. A battle.

"Aerith!"

He spun around, finally seeing the landscape clearly. This was not Gongaga or anywhere close by. The red sand could have come from the area around Cosmo Canyon, but the cliffs looked wrong. And only a few yards away, seemingly oblivious to him, were two men in strange clothes. Pieces of their clothing looked vaguely like some of the things he'd seen people wear in Wutai while other bits reminded him of the pictures from inside the Temple Of The Ancients that Kunsel had taken.

The two combatants locked blades then lept apart. One stumbled, a dark liquid oozing out from his hairline.

"So you see that all is lost. The promises of the past have all been broken. Accept death's embrace, there is nothing to go back for." The one bleeding black wiped the liquid away, the smear making the skin underneath look reptilian.

The one not so afflicted bowed his head against the flat of his sword. "Even if the morrow is barren of promises, nothing shall forestall my return."

Zack's eyes widened. "Hey! That's..."

He didn't manage to finish his thought before the scene blew away, replaced by the Lifestream. He could feel a familiar presence nearby but couldn't move to find it.

 _"Zack?"_

"Aerith? Where are you?"

 _"Nearby. It's... hard to define 'place' in the Lifestream. Wait. I think I can reach you."_

"I'm not going anywhere." He tried to close his eyes, which worked about as well as trying to scratch his nose. "Have I mentioned that the Lifestream has a twisted sense of humor?"

He heard her giggle. It felt closer but still had that strange echoing quality to it. _"How so?"_

"Well, aside from not being able to move, which is starting to freak me out, I just got treated to a flashback from the last part of Loveless Act Four. Does that mean it actually happened or does the Lifestream remember stories, too? Pretty sure Genesis would be going even more nuts if he thought the missing fifth act was somewhere in the Lifestream."

 _"Wait... No, that's... Uh?"_

"Aerith? What's wrong? Seriously, I can't move here. Damn it!"

 _"I'm not sure. The Lifestream seems to be... warning me, trying to push me back. I don't understand, but I'm almost there so don't worry."_

A moment later he felt something, a pressure, but not quite like normal physical contact. Apparently visiting the Lifestream as a spirit was a lot different from going there with a body. He tried to turn toward the sensation and found that he could move. Aerith floated next to him, smiling. He grinned back.

"I don't know what you did but it worked! I... AH!"

 _"Zack!"_

*7*7*

Tifa jumped to her feet. "Stay here. Watch them. I'm going to get help and something to use as a blanket."

Nanaki gave a curt nod as Tifa rushed past. The moment she disappeared, his ears flattened and he bowed his head toward Aerith and Zack. He didn't dare touch them so he laid as flat as he could with his nose less than an inch from Zack's boot. A high pitched whine rose from the back of Nanaki's throat.

On her own, Tifa quickly found that something had set the party on edge. People were congregated in tight knots near the brightest light sources or spreading out with lanterns as if searching for something.

Or someone.

"Dear!" Elmyra ran with her skirts hitched up around her calves to keep from catching on anything in the dark. "Where were you? Where's Aerith? Where's Zack?"

Tifa pointed back the way she came. "This way. What happened?"

"I don't know, just that Kunsel was called off by someone, I think his name was Alex? I'm not sure. Something about Cloud being sick. Apparently Cloud wasn't wherever he was supposed to be so Kunsel checked inside and..." The poor woman nearly collapsed in Tifa's arms. "The children! They're gone!"

*7*7*

Earlier the children had been a lively, adorable part of the reception. Marlene had to drag Denzel into the area set aside for dancing. Neither child, or any of the other little ones scattered among older legs, managed anything resembling an actual dance step, but only Denzel seemed to care. Cole ended up dragged into dancing as well, in his case by a pretty local girl who kept giggling at his beet-red face.

As dusk settled, the youngest children started to droop. The village elders also felt it long past time they got to bed and headed indoors. Some helped tuck the children in before collapsing into their own beds, but for the most part seeing that the youngest members of the troup were settled fell to Cole and Owain.

Yuffie was absolutely no help at all.

Once the others were more or less asleep, Yuffie tried to drag the two teenagers back to the party. Because she only had two hands, Owain got dragged the most. Cole hung back and watched the sky. It just kept going up and up and up. Even without the plate, the sky in Midgar was hazy at best. Here, he could actually see stars.

"Enjoying the view?"

Cole nearly jumped out of his own skin at the unexpected voice. He spun to see a rather feminine looking boy about his age with long white hair smirking at him.

"Did I startle you?"

"Uh, yeah. A bit. Where'd you come from? You don't look like you're from around here." Cole backed up a step. Somehow he felt his guard weaken around this guy, and he wasn't sure he liked it.

The other boy shrugged. "Nowhere important. I've actually been... separated from my brothers. We were supposed to set up camp but..."

"You're lost?" At the other boy's slow nod Cole glanced back at the house. "Well, I guess I should at least let you inside for a little while. You'll have to be quiet, though."

Cole didn't notice the other boy's eyes narrow even as his smirk widened. "It'll be like I'm not even there."

*7*7*

The moment Kunsel returned with the first search party, minus Barret, nearly every woman in Gongaga mobbed him.

"Did you find them?"

"What happened?"

"Is anyone hurt?"

Kunsel held up his arms as a shield. "Slow down. We didn't find them. We're just back for more lamp oil." He pulled away from the crowd only to run straight into Tifa. "I guess you'll want to help look."

"Yes, but..." Tifa fidgeted, her eyes darting back toward one of the houses. "Something's happened to Aerith and Zack, too."

Kunsel groaned. "They're missing?"

Tifa shook her head. "No. At least... their bodies are here, they just don't seem to be in them right now. You've really had no luck finding the kids?"

"None. It's like they just vanished. Aside from a beat up tree, there's no sign of Cloud, either." Kunsel paused for a moment. "Did you say they weren't in their bodies?"

Tifa answered with a nod. "Aerith was talking to the planet. Something went wrong, I think, and Zack touched her, so he's out, too. We managed to get a tablecloth wrapped around them but we don't dare move them and risk separating them." She led Kunsel down the road toward the hedgerow.

"Great." Kunsel wiped his face with one hand. "You can probably guess where Barret is."

"Still searching for Marlene even though he's almost out of light?"

"Yeah. And he knows the whole reason we only brought two hours worth of oil was so we'd have to check in to see if the other search parties had better luck. I just hope we don't have to go searching for him next. He has Cait, though, which is something." With a sigh, Kunsel leaned against a fence post. "There's too much happening at once for this to all be coincidence."

"But how? Sephiroth being behind geostigma I can understand but how could he make people disappear?"

"I don't know." Kunsel frowned at the sky. "I have some ideas and a few of them... I have a better understanding of why Cloud left."

Tifa's eyes widened as she clenched her fists in her skirts. "What do you mean?"

He only took a moment before deciding to give Tifa a straight answer. "Sephiroth has been trying to manipulate Cloud again. It's possible he can do the same to anyone with geostigma." Kunsel's eyes seemed to brighten even as his expression darkened. "We both assumed it was his goal again, but maybe he was just using Cloud to perfect his technique."

"You knew?" Tifa barely stopped herself from attacking him physically. She settled for verbally. "Why didn't you say anything before? We could have stopped him! We could have _helped_ him! What were you thinking?"

Kunsel turned his glowing eyes on her. Before that moment she hadn't given much thought to him being a SOLDIER with the power that went with it. "I thought it was his story to tell, not mine. And I've only known for two days. We've all been a bit preoccupied with other things, in case you haven't noticed. I _thought_ he just needed a little time to think. Hell, it's not like I don't know where he's coming from, I've got geostigma, too."

"You... what?" Tifa blinked several times.

"Yeah," Kunsel grimaced, "so Sephiroth could probably manipulate me, too, though he could probably do that anyway since all SOLDIERs have Jenova cells in them. After the last few months I hope you know how horrifying that is."

For a while, Tifa didn't speak, just stared at him before dropping her head. "I... I hadn't really thought about it. No. I didn't want to think about it. I'm sorry."

"Don't be. I don't like thinking about it either."

They started walking again. Neither thought seeing Aerith and Zack in their current state would do much good except maybe make them feel better.

*7*7*

Little Aerith ran down the twisting metal corridor. Green lights flickered, casting strange moving shadows. She didn't know what she was running from, only that she had to get away. The hem of her scrub shirt batted at her ankles with every step.

She couldn't run fast enough. The darkness, the unseen terror, rushed around her. The only refuge she could find was an equipment cart. Glass vials rattled on the shelves above her as she curled up, trying to make herself as small as possible.

"Where's my little specimen?"

"No! Stop!"

"I'm only concerned for her well-being. There are so many dangerous experiments lying around. I'd hate to think what would happen if she stumbled into one. Why, she might be damaged."

"Just don't touch her. Please."

"Oh, I have no intention of doing more than observing her. She's too young to survive the experiments I have planned. Yet."

That laugh. It sent a chill through her bones. She had no way of knowing when thin metal gave way to desperately protective arms.

Those arms were too frail, the heart under her ear too fast, and the breath escaping above her came in ragged gasps.

They were running.

They were falling.

"Mama!"

* * *

 _And that's how you crash a reception. I figure Sephiroth's plan is going to be a little more complex than it was in Advent Children simply because he hasn't had to spend two years letting bits of himself burn away so the Lifestream doesn't try to tear him apart by force. In this timeline he's only spent a little over a month stewing over his last defeat._


	23. Glass

**Chapter 23 - Glass**

All he could see was green.

All he could hear was screaming.

"Leave him alone!" He punched the glass separating him from the not-green world.

Nothing happened. Of course nothing happened. This was a dream. A horrible nightmare. All this was over, done, in the past. He just had to endure until his body decided to wake up.

 _"If your body wakes up."_

He felt ice pour down his back and arms. Real or not, he knew he'd go insane if this nightmare continued for too long. He closed his eyes and took several deep breaths.

"It's okay. I'll wake up and everything's going to be fine."

A new scream rose from surrounding green, an all too familiar scream.

"Aerith!" He stopped himself just short of punching the glass again. "This isn't real. This isn't real."

"And if it was?" A dark, misty shape loomed in front of him, a familiar sword hanging heavy in one hand. "You're a disgrace. What meaning do dreams and honor have if you can't protect them?"

He squinted at the figure. "Angeal? What..."

The figure's other hand emerged from the swirling green pulling a smaller figure dressed in pink along with it. The second figure dropped to the invisible floor as the first pointed his sword at her head.

"Angeal! Stop!"

"This isn't real, correct? Then it shouldn't matter if I kill her."

He slammed his hands flat against the glass, once, twice. "No! It matters! Of course it matters!"

The figure laughed. It wasn't Angeal's. Dark flames licked at the edge of the Buster sword, transforming it into something else. Something thinner, longer. The flames reached up the figure, black leather and silver hair framed pale skin and cat-like green eyes.

"Sephiroth." His voice hardened. "I swear, if you hurt any part of her I will personally make sure there isn't enough of you to even _think_ about leaving the Lifestream."

The figure ended his laugh with an amused smirk. "I'd like to see you try."

*7*7*

 _"I should thank you, Cloud. You've brought several useful vessels to my attention."_

Cloud fought against every involuntary twitch of his body. If his legs tried to stand he forced them to sit, if his head started turning right he pulled it to the left. With so much of his focus on physical control he could barely pay attention to Sephiroth's goading, never mind make a retort.

 _"Only two of them have received an invitation, but that can be changed."_

Cloud threw himself against a tree trunk, scraping off most of the bark on that side and reducing a thick layer underneath to splinters. "Don't. You. Dare."

Sephiroth chuckled inside Cloud's head. _"You could have prevented this, Cloud. I told you before, the only thing your struggles will bring is more suffering. Now watch what you've done to those you claim to protect."_

There was no escape, Cloud knew that. He could close his eyes but whatever horror Sephiroth wanted him to see would just be projected onto the inside of his eyelids. He could knock himself senseless but then Sephiroth would just enter his dreams. He wouldn't give Sephiroth the satisfaction of seeing him squirm. He sat as stiff and unmoving as he could, eyes open and glaring straight ahead into the jungle.

As expected, Cloud was forced to watch something other than what lay ahead of him. The view seemed to be through someone else's eyes, someone guarding the back of a covered truck full of frightened children. Marlene clung to Cole's side, begging him to speak, move, do something. The boy only stared blankly at the opposite wall of the truck. On his other side, Nelly cowered away from the gaze of whoever Cloud was viewing this through. Little Alan lay in her lap sobbing as Lynnet hugged them both.

The view turned to the other side, which wasn't any better. Owain, at least, was trying to comfort Amy and her little brother. Ran shielded the rest of the children as best he could, but their faces were still mostly visible and close to tears.

All except Denzel, who stared as blankly as Cole.

The figure Cloud was looking through glanced down at the weapon he'd been cleaning, an ornate pistol reenforced by a short, thick blade along the top of the barrel. It looked about as practical as Vincent's triple barreled revolver, which didn't make him feel any better.

Especially when Alan squawked and the figure suddenly had the pistol aimed at the now completely silent children.

 _"You can stop this, Cloud. All you have to do is stop resisting."_

"And then what?"

 _"Well, that's up to you."_

*7*7*

"I dun' like this." Cait curled around the back of Barret's head, his ears pinned as far down as they'd go and his tail shivering between his legs. "We should've turned back with the others."

"I ain't stoppin' till I find Marlene. Y're a cat, can't ya see in the dark?"

"There has ta be _some_ light!"

Barret's scowl deepened, mostly because of Cait's whining but also as a result of almost tripping over some lump on the forest floor that he couldn't see. "Thought ya were a spy. Don' ya come wi' some kinda heat vision or som'in'?"

Cait bristled with indignation despite his overwhelming terror. "I'm a _fortune teller_. My use as a spy was strictly a matter o' convenience. Ah. Ye dun' wanna step there."

Barret froze. "Wha'? Why?"

"Dunno. Just a feelin'."

"Y're a toy!"

"Fortune teller!" Cait slapped the top of Barret's head. "Now are ye gonna back up or d'ye plan on immitatin' a crane all night?"

Barret grumbled, but backed up a couple steps before turning. "If y're so good, why doncha use tha' ta find Marlene an' the other kids?"

"Ye think I haven't been tryin'?" Cait shivered. "I'm gettin' nothin'. Jes a bad case o' the heeby jeebies."

"Damn useless cat." Barret walked into a tree. "Ya could at least be more consistent wi' warnin' me!"

"Oh, I'm sorry. Didna realize ye wanted help from the 'damn useless cat.'"

Barret's survival instinct kicked in just in time to not throttle the one thing that could possibly guide him through the forest without killing himself. "Fine, so ya figure we should be headin' back, right?"

Cait flopped over the back of Barret's head. "Aye! Please! If only to see me paws in front o' me face again."

An almost evil grin cracked Barret's face. "An' which direction d'ya figure we def'nitely _shouldn't_ go in?"

For a creature that didn't have to eat, Cait made a very convincing gulping noise. "Oh no."

"Oh yes. Which way, cat?"

Cait wrung his outsized hands. "Ooooh. I dun like this idea."

"I dun care if ya like it or not! Jes' do yer path findin' thing."

After a few more seconds of whimpering and shivering, Cait tapped the right side of Barret's head. "I think there's somethin' nasty close by." Cait's voice came out as an unsteady whisper. "Turn right jest a tish. There. Now three steps forward. Ack! Not such big steps!"

Barret spat out a mouthful of folliage. "Tha' was a normal step!"

"Fine, fine. Keep forgettin' how unreasonably large ye are. Sidestep left here."

They kept that up for quite a while, long enough for Barret to almost throw Cait into what he hoped was a tree four times. The fourth time Cait went limp rather than curling up like he had before.

"And here we be. Not what ye were hopin' for, I suspect, but Tifa, at least, will be relieved."

"Eh? Wha' ya talkin' 'bout, cat?"

If Cait had eyeballs behind those slits, he would have rolled them. "Turn yer head slightly to the right. Keep yer eyes pealed for anythin' tha' looks like a pair o' blue fireflies."

"Blue what? I don' see... #&$*! Spike! Tha' you? Where've ya been ya lazy-ACK!"

Barret didn't even realize he'd been thrown back until he felt an unnaturally strong hand press his throat into his spine. Part of him noted that the ground was soft, which may have saved his life. Another noted that Cait had let out a yelp before falling somewhere in the darkness. Mostly he just tried to breathe and not stare in horror at the burning blue circles hovering over him.

"Cloud, wha' the hell? Wha's go'en inta ya this time?"

The eyes above him narrowed only the barest amount. "Barret?" Cloud grunted. "No, you can't."

"Can't what?" Barret felt the grip on his throat loosen, but for once just laid still waiting for an answer.

"No. You... Get out." Cloud backed away, letting blessed air flow freely through Barret's bruised throat.

Barret still didn't dare move. Listening to Cloud fight himself hurt, but not nearly as much as what he knew Cloud was capable of doing to him.

"The kids." That got Barret shifting onto his elbows. From the position of Cloud's eyes, he seemed to be crouched or curled up around himself. "Taken. North."

And Cloud screamed. The suddenness of the noise and the wind from Cloud running past sent Barret sprawling back on the mossy jungle floor. It took a few seconds before Barret felt like his body could support his own weight again.

"Cait, ya still there?"

The little robot hopped onto Barret's gun-arm. "Aye."

Still feeling a little stunned, Barret lifted his companion up onto his shoulder. "Think ya can find the village from here?"

"Laddie, I thought ye'd never ask."

*7*7*

She knelt in the sacred place below the Forgotten City. Alone. Unguarded.

 _This isn't right._

She felt the sword pierce her back, sever her spine, tear through her heart.

 _This isn't how it happened._

She fell against something solid. She felt sadness surrounding her. Grief at her death.

 _I didn't die. I'm here! Please!_

The voices faded. They were leaving her behind.

 _No! Stop!_

 _Zack!_

He was there. She could feel him close by. She could almost see him through the impenetrable haze.

No. Not impenetrable. Their connection made it through, somehow. So would she.

*7*7*

He had retreated into his own mind at some point to escape the voice and the images. It didn't entirely work, but he hadn't expected it to.

He also didn't expect to brush against a piece of his still fractured self that the darkness hadn't touched. _Couldn't_ touch because it held a darkness of its own. Thankful for any sort of reprieve, he grasped this fragment. He held onto the jagged edges as oily smoke tried to invade volcanic glass.

He could sense something inside. Something ancient. Something that knew the alien presence and _hated_ it. Hated anything that threatened that which it protected. Something that he probably couldn't control, but the evil darkness definitely couldn't.

He'd almost made a decision when someone familiar startled him awake. His hold slipped for a moment. The protector, the smoke, and he scrambled for control. Somehow, he had to at least push this other part of him in the right direction.

Somehow, he had to figure out what that direction was.

The protector bolted as soon as he regained contact. The voice grew angry but distant and the smoke burned away.

He didn't know what was happening outside and didn't have the energy to do more than hope this piece of himself wasn't a danger to his friends.

* * *

 _Amazingly, I think we're coming close to the climax of this story. Yeah, it's going a lot faster than the first installment. Makes sense, I guess. The Difference One Life Makes is based on a three disk game and Rebuild of Gaia is based on an hour and a half movie._

 _Sephiroth is having way too much fun. Let's see if we can annoy him next chapter._


	24. Feral

_For dumb. I think I forgot to post last week and I nearly forgot this week. Well, it's still Monday, so I'm technically on time?_

 **Chapter 24 - Feral**

Tifa needed the sleep. She knew it, everyone in Gongaga knew it, and (more importantly) her body insisted on it. So by the time Barret came stumbling out of the trees, she was curled up in a quilt dead to the world.

Apparently no one considered the news Barret brought important enough to wake her up but did consider it important enough to leave her behind.

She hated being left behind.

Thus why she was currently venting her frustrations on an old log behind the Fair's house. It wasn't a sparring dummy, but this wasn't exactly training either.

"I'd certainly hate to be whoever you're angry at."

Tifa spun around. A small, mousy-haired woman with large glasses stood well outside her range.

"Shera! I didn't even know you were here!"

"I'm not surprised, I was on the Highwind doing paperwork and keeping in touch with our crew until the actual ceremony. After that, well, there were other distractions."

Tifa sighed and kicked the log over so it could be used as a seat. A badly abused, splintery seat, but a seat nonetheless.

Nodding, Shera sat down as primly as if it were an office chair. "It's selfish, but I'm actually glad you were left behind. I don't normally have anyone to talk to. Well," she adjusted her glasses, "outside work, that is."

Several thoughts sprang to Tifa's mind, most of which made her feel incredibly guilty. "What do you want to talk about?"

"The dig site." The sunlight sparkled off Shera's glasses as she leaned forward. "The university finally gave us permission to drill there if we send some men over to help with the heavy lifting on their project. Since we're sharing manpower, I thought I'd try getting them to let us use some of their equipment, especially the ground-penetrating radar. I used the argument that it'd help us avoid drilling through anything they want to investigate. That's not the most exciting part, though! There's something down there. It's fairly deep, so it'll take a few weeks to uncover, but the shape and density suggests a metal ship similar in size to the Highwind. What if the Ancients had airships? This could rewrite history!"

"Are you sure it's something the Ancients made? I can't imagine them using mako as a fuel."

Shera grinned. "That's the best part! If the engine is even close to intact Cid can reverse engineer it and figure out what fuel they _did_ use and how to adapt our engines. We might even discover a fuel source that's better than oil."

"That would be nice. The generator at Elmyra's place is rigged to take gasoline right now. It smells awful."

"One of the many reasons mako was promoted so heavily." Shera sighed, turning her gaze skyward. "I even wrote my graduate thesis on the positive impact of mako on the environment compared to coal. I want to go back ten years and slap myself for being so stupid."

"We were all that stupid back then."

"Maybe. But now we have to be smart." Shera frowned at Tifa. "And, excuse me for how this is going to sound, punching a tree doesn't seem all that smart."

Part of Tifa wanted to object, but the part that knew Shera was right won with a sigh and a weak nod. "So what am I supposed to do? There's nothing to fight here."

At that, Shera smiled. "Who said you need to fight? Come on, let's help our boys with our brains."

*7*7*

Marlene clung to Denzel as the truck bounced along whatever they were driving over. She doubted it was a road.

The the truck lurched to a stop, sending all the kids sprawling with Marlene at the bottom of the pile.

"Denzel... Move... You're squishing..." Marlene finished with a gasp. Just outside she could hear the distinct sounds of a fight.

"Ah. It seems our big brother has finally arrived." Too close, leather creaked and a gun cocked. "He probably thinks he's here to rescue you."

Something heavy hit the truck, then another, slightly less heavy something, did the same in a slightly different place. Marlene still couldn't see and could barely breathe. Alan started crying.

There were gunshots next. The youngest kids screamed, except Marlene. She wanted to believe she was just too brave to scream, but really she was too scared. She found Denzel's hand and squeezed.

He didn't squeeze back.

The scary man with girly hair started cackling. "Now, Loz, don't hog all the fun!"

Fabric ripped. The scary man kept laughing. Marlene heard more gunshots, more metal against metal, then a familiar grunt.

"Cloud?"

A hand managed to find Marlene's hair. "Shh." It was Lynnet.

The truck kept bouncing with the fight, but it sounded like the scary man and Cloud weren't inside now. Some of the weight lifted off Marlene and she could see just a little.

Just enough to see the canvas flap at the back move and the big scary man climb inside.

"My brothers left. Will you play?"

Owain jumped up, blocking Marlene's view. "Leave them alone!"

A slap, a scream, and Owain crumpled.

Marlene clutched Denzel's hand harder.

The older children tried to shield the younger children with their bodies. All except Cole, who just sat as lifeless as Denzel.

Just as the big scary man stepped toward them he jumped back. The front bumper of the truck imbedded itself where he'd been standing.

The big scary man turned to his right and grinned. "You came back to play!"

Then he vanished. Marlene wasn't sure if Zack or even Cloud could move that fast.

"What's going on?" Amy's voice sounded shaky and small.

Lynnet's hand shifted on Marlene's head. "I don't know. Cloud's here but... something's not right about him."

That didn't really concern Marlene, there was usually something not right about Cloud. "Is Owain hurt?"

"He's breathing." That was Ran, trying to sound grown up.

Marlene heard wood creak and snap just before the older kids gasped. One of the boys, Ran, she thought, went, "woah."

"What happened?" Marlene tried to push forward but Lynnet held her back. "I can't see!"

"He's fine." Ran gulped. "He just... I think he just threw a tree at the bad guys."

Marlene nodded, though she wondered why Ran sounded surprised. Cloud was strong, after all. He didn't like showing how strong most of the time, but he was.

She heard something growl, then, and Lynnet pushed her, Denzel, Amy, and Dale further back. Marlene only caught a glimpse of something like black mist with teeth before her eyes were covered again. She felt Alan squirm nearby and wriggled out a hand to hold his.

A new sound mixed in with the usual sounds of fighting. Something like a balloon full of sand being popped over and over. The other kids kept making scared noises and Marlene tried to wriggle free because she couldn't see what was happening and that only made everything worse.

In the dark her imagination painted pictures to go with the sounds she heard.

Skin broken and bleeding. Metal twisted around and trapping someone she liked. Bad people putting holes in that person.

She didn't want to cry. She was brave and there was someone smaller than her who was already crying and needed her to stay strong.

But she couldn't help herself. Cloud was strong but she'd seen people fight. Three on one wasn't fair. He could lose and then the scary men would kill him and do scary things to her and the other kids. Like they'd already done to Cole and Denzel.

Another wiggle and she could just see a bit over Lynnet's shoulder. Marlene didn't realize it for a moment because at first all she saw was black. Then her eyes refocused and the black was Cloud facing away from them. He held what looked like a twisted side panel from the truck like a sword.

There was something else in the truck just beyond Cloud. Something that looked like a very large, very mean dog partially covered in metal. Cloud took one swing at it and it exploded in black ash and smoke.

"Come now, brother. You aren't playing very nice. Won't you at least say something?"

"Yes, won't you? You're making Loz cry."

"I'm not crying!"

Cloud growled.

Marlene's eyes widened as she gasped. Cloud never growled. He frowned a lot, but she'd seen him good and mad so rarely that she could count every time. And she could barely count to ten.

Cloud was quiet, even when really angry. He rarely yelled. Her daddy yelled a lot. He growled and said things that had Tifa and Aerith scold him. Cloud never did that.

Except now. Now he sounded like that big scary dog that used to guard the junk pile behind the weapon store in Sector Seven. The one the neighborhood kids kept trying to convince her was a wolf but Tifa said was just a very big dog.

His arms moved too fast for her to track, but from the pinging sound she guessed he was blocking bullets. Or at least mostly blocking. There were some thuds and he grunted a couple times.

Then Marlene saw a big blur that turned into the big scary man just before Cloud kicked him away.

She still couldn't see most of the fight, it either happened too fast or was blocked by Cloud's body. She could tell Cloud couldn't keep fighting much longer, though. His breathing got louder and his arms shook.

"Looks like big brother is getting tired. Should we put him to sleep?"

"Not yet. There's something he still needs to see."

Cloud snarled, the now almost useless sheet of metal crumpling further in his hands. It may have been Marlene's imagination, but she thought she saw bits of blue flame spark along his shoulders.

A moment later another gunshot staggered Cloud to the right as the youngest scary man swung a sword at him. Cloud brought up the piece of metal he'd been using as a shield, but the sword sliced through it into his arm.

Cloud screamed.

Wind and blue fire exploded from Cloud. It threw the scary man out of the truck and tore apart the canvas tent. The children screamed as they were pushed back against the cold metal between the truck bed and the driving compartment.

His right arm still pouring blood, Cloud ripped away the bench Cole had been sitting on. With both hands he swung the makeshift sword over his head, whipping the flames into a whirlwind before striking down in another explosive wave.

Marlene gasped, but not in fear. The fire didn't burn. It felt like a warm breeze on a cold day. It felt like her daddy's hugs, only less itchy.

It felt like life.

Cloud shot out of the truck, trailing that wonderful fire. He spun, ducked, and jumped so fast the only evidence of his movements were the glowing after images he left behind.

The scary men couldn't keep up. The big one lost an arm, the girly one lost a leg then a hand, the youngest one was pinned to the ground with the bench through his stomach.

Only Cloud bled.

With the bad men motionless he collapsed. First to his knees then all the way to his face.

The kids had all stared completely frozen until that moment. The instant Cloud stopped moving they ran after him, a flurry of uncertain hands and feet.

"We gotta stop the bleeding!"

"Oh gods! He's been shot!"

"I know that!"

"I mean a lot! Look!"

"These other guys are still alive!"

"What are they? Their insides are all black."

"I wanna go home!"

"We have to get outta here."

"We can't carry Cloud!"

"What about Denzel and Cole?"

"Guys! They're moving!"

"Owain's only half awake, too."

Marlene wished Cloud would wake up, or her daddy would appear and tell them what to do. They were kids. Of those awake, the oldest was barely twelve. What were they supposed to do?

* * *

 _Kids are a lot of things. They are durable, they are persistent, they are imaginative, but most importantly they are_ _ **not**_ _stupid. They understand pain and fear and that death means being away forever and ever. Sure, there are things a kid shouldn't have to watch, shouldn't be allowed to watch, but sometimes shielding them isn't a good idea. Because when they know something bad is happening and they can't see it I can almost guarantee that whatever their active little brains come up with to fill in the gaps is going to be ten times worse than reality._

 _Oh, and the Remnants made one fatal mistake in this chapter. They didn't notice that what they were fighting wasn't quite entirely_ _ **Cloud**_ _. And they pushed him to a limit break of epic proportions. Okay, so two mistakes._


	25. Starlight

**Chapter 25 - Starlight**

"Zack."

He curled up tighter. "Go away. I won't watch. I won't."

"Zack!"

He smelled flowers. He hadn't smelled anything in this strange place before. Raising his head he saw a vision of floating pink and shining steal rush toward him. Green light drove back the darkness.

One delicate hand pressed against the invisible barrier holding him. She leaned forward before jerking back as if she heard something. Tendrils of darkness ate at the light she brought with her.

"No!" He pounded against the barrier. "Get out of here!"

"I won't." Light shot between her hands, forming a staff of green and red. A golden butterfly spread delicate wings at the head, topped with a ruby set in obsidian. "I'm not losing you again!"

She raised the staff and slammed the tip against the barrier. Green cracks spread like luminescent spiderwebs. He shielded his eyes against the coming explosion.

Pain flared in him for a moment before washing away like spring rain.

A terrible shriek echoed around them. The darkness retreated, leaving them at the center of a purified sphere.

She stood determined before him looking out at the darkness. "This is the planet's champion and my knight! You will not touch him!"

"Aerith?" He stood unsteadily at first, but strength quickly returned to him. "What's going on?"

She looked over her shoulder, a familiar teasing smile on her lips. "We're going home." With that she turned back to the darkness. "I am Cetra. I am human. This does not make me weak, it makes me strong. My knight is a human touched by calamity. We are young, inexperienced, and don't know how to listen, but we can learn. Minerva, grant us your power. Burn away the darkness and show us the path back to our friends."

The darkness hissed and tried to rush them. He acted without thinking, wrapping his arms around her as the last word left her mouth.

Golden light burst from her staff.

A power flowed through him that reminded him of singing crystals and a woman with golden hair.

The steal on her dress turned to gold, pink became blazing white. Her bracelets glowed and expanded into armored gloves. A gold and sapphire circlet sprouted under her bangs.

He gasped as the light wrapped around him. His belt turned gold, guards of midnight blue also trimmed in gold appeared on his shoulders. His boots and gloves shifted to match. The familiar weight of his sword appeared on his back but when he drew it the entire blade had changed to polished silver. The gold wings on the crossguard looked ready to take flight.

Her weapon also changed. Holes appeared in the butterfly wings as they lengthened up and down. The shaft turned silver. The ruby remained the same, but a golden spike grew from the top.

She swung her transformed staff to the left. "There!"

He grinned, spinning his sword. The darkness fell away like dust before his blade.

"When we get back, you've got to explain what just happened."

She smiled, her own weapon singing as it brought doom to the calamity. "It's a date."

*7*7*

Barret loomed over the back of yet another poor, unfortunate technician manning the various controls and sensors in the Highwind's control room. "Ya still haven't found 'em? This was s'posed to make lookin' faster! $&* ! Ya even tryin'?"

"Shut the $&^# up!" Cid nearly ground his cigarette in two at the way the other man was making his crew wet their trousers. "We've only been up here two hours, so either simmer down or you'll be lookin' for the kids from _outside_."

That put a lid on Barret's fuming, but didn't lock it down. The big man continued to mutter and curse from one end of the control room to the other. Cid let it go because at least he wasn't aiming any of it at his crew.

This continued for a long, increasingly tense, time. Cid would be lying if he didn't feel almost as frustrated as Barret obviously did. He didn't have any kids and gods willing never would, but the thought of the little brats in danger and Cloud acting strange again had him going through more than his usual three packs a day.

Finally, one of the techs jumped in his chair. "I think we've got something!"

The preemptive celebration was nipped in the bud by Cid's insistence they find out what the 'something' was first.

All thoughts of celebration evaporated when they saw the little procession below them. The children appeared safe and whole, though nearly dead on their feet from exhaustion. The reason being the figure bleeding through make-shift bandages on the torn piece of tarp they dragged along between them. They would have been completely invisible in the darkness of the plains if not for the little lamps the slum kids had jury rigged from a truck's head and tail lights.

Two things kept Barret from jumping straight down to hug Marlene. First, Cid ordered the crew not to help him into a parachute. Second, he didn't want Marlene's last view of him to be his bloody remains scattered across the countryside.

Cid had a safe landing site picked out by the time Barret came to his decision to stay aboard until they touched down. The worried father still ran for the nearest exit so he could rush out the instant the Highwind stopped moving, though.

Not soon enough, Barret's feet touched ground and he raced for his adopted daughter. "Marlene!"

"Papa!" The little girl jumped toward him then hesitated, looking back at the prone body on the tarp. "Cloud's hurt! You gotta carry him inside!"

And risk Cloud going nuts like last time? Barret actually had to think about that. On the one hand, it was a serious risk. On the other, Marlene was looking up at him with her biggest, most adorable eyes. Resistance was futile while he allowed himself to look at those eyes.

So he turned his head only to find himself looking at Cloud, bloody and ghostly pale in the Highwind's landing lights. Cloud's left sleeve had been torn away, possibly by one of the kids in an effort to bandage one of his many wounds, revealing the ugly blight of geostigma that had spread from his elbow up to his shoulder and on under his shirt.

The young man needed medical attention _yesterday_.

Swallowing the remains of his hesitation, Barret scooped up Cloud, tarp and all, as best he could. He grunted at the effort, not only because of how awkward carrying a limp body was for a man with only one hand, but at the unexpected weight of his passenger.

By this time, Cid and a couple crew members with more than basic first-aid knowledge jogged down the gang-plank. Cid's string of curses were just barely cut short by a glare from Barret, though the pilot returned the glare rather than look properly shamed.

"Right. Everyone, inside! Now! Hank, make sure none of the kids're about to keel over on the way to the bunks. Get Cloud to the infirmary. No dawdlin'!"

His crew sprang into action, though the ease with which they managed the kids had more to do with the youngsters being smart enough to realize that if they cooperated they could _finally_ go to bed. The most difficult ones were Cole and Denzel. Though the boys were mobile, they hadn't quite reached the level of 'responsive' yet.

The moment the kids were out of earshot, Cid's impressive knowledge of expletives came to the fore once again. "What the hell happened?" Several more choice words. "Kid looks like he's been run over by a #&* tank."

"How the hell'd I know? All's I can figure is he had trouble with whoever nabbed the kids."

Cid lit another cigarette, knowing full well he'd have to put it out once they reached the infirmary. "So the kidnappers had a pet dragon or somethin'?" He squinted at the few wounds mostly visible. "Let's hope he stays unconscious for a few more hours."

He did, mostly. Cid's field medic had great difficulty maintaining a steady hand every time Cloud moved or groaned. Making matters worse, the medic had to almost lean on the scalpel in order to reach the bullet imbedded an inch below the young warrior's skin. And that was the arm afflicted with geostigma. For the other bullet wounds, the medic abandoned the delicate blade and found the sharpest mythril dagger onboard.

Barret banged on the door to the infirmary as the medic finished up the last of the bandages. "How's the spiky-haired punk doin'?"

"Better than anyone should be after being shot, stabbed, and who knows what else so many times." The medic leaned back and ran a towel over his face. "I'm just glad he apparently doesn't need stitches. I'd hate to have to push a needle through that tough hide of his."

"Yeah, he's a tough li'l bastard. Guess I owe him one for savin' Marlene. Ya hear that, Spiky? Ya better wake up soon so's I can pay ya back. Don't like bein' in debt ta y're sorry ass." Barret glanced over at the medic, who was helping himself to a bottle of whiskey he'd hidden away somewhere. "Cid says we're gonna be landin' any minute now, so get 'im ready to move somewhere more comf'table."

The medic gulped down another mouthful of whiskey. "Wouldn't take much. Mind helping with that? The boy's heavier than he looks."

Barret snorted. "Don' hav'ta tell me that. I'm the one who dragged his sorry ass up here."

Between them, they easily moved Cloud to a stretcher and carried him down to the hatch. The sight that welcomed them left their jaws on the ground.

Somehow, the entire village had become a field hospital. A gang of women lead by Tifa accosted them seconds after their feet touched the ground. They were led to the house that sometimes served as an inn, and now served as a medical ward, apparently. Once they had Cloud on a bed Barret was shooed out.

Cid leaned against the wall next to the door with a cigarette hanging from his smirking mouth. "A hundred gil says this was all Shera's idea."

"Where's Marlene?"

"Fair house, I'm guessing. Least wise, it was Mis'us Fair who came and herded her and the rest of the waist-high crowd off." Cid tapped a bit of ash off his cigarette. "Don't envy her the next few hours trying to get those kids to sleep."

"Wha'chu talkin' about? They all looked ready to fall over last I saw 'em."

Cid barked a humorless laugh. "Sure, they'll go to bed just fine. And then the nightmares'll start. Bad enough when the kids goin' to war are in their teens. This bunch?" A cloud of smoke escaped his mouth as he sighed. "Ya saw the state Cloud was in. How much more do ya figure they saw?"

Barret went about as pale as his natural skin tone allowed and ran for the Fair house.

Moments later, Cid felt a drop of rain fall on his nose.

"$&^# perfect." Another drop fell in his eye as he looked up. His swearing got much more colorful before he yawned and slumped, still muttering obscenities, against the side of of the inn.

The rain continued as a sleepy patter despite the lack of clouds. Nothing seemed to move until the inn door slid open.

*7*7*

Zack took one last look to make sure Cid's cigarette hadn't fallen on anything painfully burnable before closing the door. "He is _not_ going to be happy when he wakes up."

"So no change then?" Aerith smiled up at her husband of barely four hours. "It's for his own safety, just in case something goes wrong."

"I'm almost afraid to ask what could go wrong that everyone being asleep will protect them from."

"Probably best you don't ask." Aerith held her staff in front of her, forehead resting on the shaft, as she called upon the planet to grant peaceful sleep to all inside.

All except two, one who was already unconscious and another who tended him.

* * *

 _References! The first scene contains at least two related to what Aerith and then Zack are wearing. There might be a third. I say 'might' because Aerith's supplication to Minerva sounded awfully familiar as I wrote it. I just can't figure out why._


	26. Sleepwalking

_I forgot to upload again last week, didn't I. For dumb!_

* * *

 **Chapter 26 - Sleepwalking**

Tifa sat by Cloud's bedside, a scene far too similar to her experience in Mideel for comfort.

"Why does this keep happening?" She turned slightly, hoping for some advice. "Shera?"

The slightly older woman sat next to the small table in the corner, arms spread out and head pressed against the papers she'd been reading only moments before.

"Shera!"

"Shh. It's all right."

Tifa whipped around at the voice. She needed a moment and visual confirmation to snap her out of combat mode. Didn't mean she wasn't still confused.

"Aerith? You're awake! But now Shera's asleep. What... What's going on?"

Her friend smiled as if about to share a marvelous secret. "I'll explain everything, or, rather, Zack will. I need to check on Cloud. Do you mind?"

Tifa shook her head. In the doorway behind Aerith, Zack half-smiled.

"Don't know if I can explain 'everything,' this is still about as clear as mud to me right now, but I'll do what I can."

Tifa let herself be led out of the room before bombarding Zack with questions. "When did you wake up? Why is Shera asleep? What..."

"Hey!" Zack shielded himself with his arms. "Easy. Let me figure out how to explain this, okay?"

Tifa took a deep breath. "Maybe you should start at the beginning."

Zack nodded. "You probably already know that Aerith and I were stuck in the Lifestream for a while. Well, not quite the Lifestream. Sephiroth had us. Or Jenova, I guess there really isn't much difference at this point. I'd rather not go into detail about what happened in there."

"I understand. How did you get out?"

"Aerith broke free." Zack beamed with pride. "She also had a conversation with Minerva, who turns out to be a sort of spokesgoddess for the planet's will. This is where things get really confusing for me, so don't ask a lot of questions. Chances are the answer is 'I don't know.'" Zack took a deep breath. "Apparently, Sephiroth is using geostigma, and Cloud in particular, as an anchor to maintain at least part of his consciousness. Unfortunately, it's the part that hates us. The rest is just instinct from an evil alien cancer. That part is using geostigma to eat the Lifestream."

Tifa nodded. "Okay. That doesn't explain why Shera's asleep, though. Or what Aerith's doing right now."

Zack rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeah... Actually, everyone's asleep except us. Minerva gave Aerith some lessons in using magic without materia, I guess. Given how good she is at it, either time works different in the Lifestream or it's a Cetra thing. As for what she's doing right now, I'm really not sure. Something to figure out how to help Cloud and get rid of Sephiroth, probably."

Tifa watched Zack's face as he fidgeted. "There's something you're not telling me."

"I did say this was confusing for me. There's a lot I just don't know how to explain." Still, he couldn't seem to look her straight in the eye.

Tifa crossed her arms. "Try."

"Fine." Zack motioned to a small table on the other side of the room. "You might want to sit down for this."

With a sinking heart and stomach, Tifa all but fell into one of the nearby chairs. Zack tried to sit, but ended up standing. He bounced on the balls of his feet as he tried not to fall into a set of squats.

"The only way to make sure Jenova doesn't come back is to destroy every last cell, including what's inside us." Zack clenched his fists until the leather of his gloves squeaked. "I'm safe for now because I'm 'Minerva's Champion,' whatever that means. Kunsel and any other SOLDIERs still alive probably won't be for much longer unless we find a way to cure geostigma."

"But that's exactly what we're trying to do!" Tifa jumped to her feet. "Are you saying the planet wants them dead?"

"No! Yes, sort of, maybe." Zack ran a hand through his hair. "The planet usually doesn't care much about individuals. As far as it's concerned Cloud is just a big concentration of Jenova and the Calamity's primary link to the physical world. Minerva's supposed to be just the planet's voice, but she doesn't seem to agree with everything the planet wants to do. Aerith said Minerva called Cloud 'curious' and 'an anomaly.' I'm not sure what that means except she might help Aerith kill off Jenova without killing Cloud. Or anyone else."

"The planet's hurt."

Zack and Tifa snapped around at Aerith's voice. The new bride gave them a sad smile.

"People who are hurt don't think clearly, it's no different for the planet. Minerva was originally intended to be simply a voice everyone could hear. Now she's trying to heal the planet while protecting as many as possible." Aerith looked straight into Tifa's eyes. "We need your help."

"If it saves Cloud, I'll do anything."

"Be careful how you use that word." Aerith held out a hand. "Come."

Tifa followed her, Zack trailing close behind. Nothing in the room seemed different. Shera remained slumped across the table. Cloud hadn't moved at all.

"We'll all need to be able to touch him." Aerith smiled at her husband. "Could you move the bed away from the wall?"

Zack rolled his shoulders. "Shouldn't be a problem." He bent slightly to grab the frame. The hardest part, as usual, was not breaking the bed.

Tifa pulled another chair over. "What are we doing?"

"Healing his body won't do much good if his mind is still vulnerable to attack. Besides, I think the Calamity has overstayed its welcome."

Tifa couldn't agree more. Her fists itched to deliver long overdue justice to what remained of Sephiroth.

Aerith linked her hand with Tifa's and Zack's over Cloud's forehead. She chanted something in a language Tifa couldn't understand, then the world faded away.

*7*7*

A lanky man in a rumpled suit flopped onto the barstool next to a petite woman in an immaculate T-shirt and shorts. He took one look at the green and pink beverage in front of the woman and stuck out his tongue.

"That's kinda girly for ya, Ciss."

Cissnei poked her drink with a straw. "I _am_ a girl, Reno, in case you haven't noticed."

"I noticed. Ya've just always been one of the guys. Beer, chips, cheating at poker..."

"Why are you here? I doubt it's to remember the good old days."

Reno snorted as he motioned to the bartender. "No way. I'm here with a job offer."

"You're kidding." Cissnei waited until Reno ordered a shot of something that was about as close to pure alcohol as was legal before continuing. "After everything that happened, everything we did, you think... Why would I go back to ShinRa?"

"A shot at redemption." Reno kicked back his first shot and poured another. "We've all done some messed up stuff and right now I don't care what was right and what was wrong. I'm a Turk and that's all that matters. Turks are family. The mess we're in now isn't something that can be fixed by acting alone. So what d'ya say?"

Cissnei glanced at her drink before grabbing Reno's bottle and pulling down a large gulp. "Lemme think about it."

*7*7*

The mist seemed to go on forever. Wherever they were, it bore little resemblance to Cloud's mind from when Mideel collapsed. That would've been a good thing if there was anything to see. As it was, Tifa started to doubt they even were in Cloud's mind.

Zack stopped, one hand on his sword with the other around Aerith's shoulders. "Did you hear that?"

The women listened to the silence until they picked up a faint scraping of claws on stone. Soon, a large, grey shape emerged from the fog, ears down and eyes wide.

Tifa ran forward, ignoring Zack's protests. "What are you doing here? How...?"

Zack sidestepped so Tifa wasn't between him and the creature. "You know him?"

"This is the dog that led me to Cloud in Mideel. Or, at least, he looks just like him."

Aerith and Zack exchanged a look.

"Dog?" Zack moved his hand from his sword to the back of his head. "Uh, you're the expert, being from Nibelheim and all, but I'm pretty sure that's not a dog."

"Huh?" Tifa looked up at Zack then at the dog nuzzling her cheek. Sure, he was an unusually large, scruffy-looking dog, but she'd never seen a wolf with blue eyes. She slowly moved her hands up to his mouth. He had very big teeth for a dog.

Aerith knelt next to Tifa. "You're part of Cloud, aren't you? You're the one who helped me before. Can you guide us through the fog?"

The wolf sniffed all of them thoroughly before leading them away. Zack took up the rear just in case there were any less friendly surprises waiting for them.

"So you've all met Cloud's inner wolf, huh?"

"Guess so." Aerith smiled. "Though I'm surprised he was able to manifest in the physical world. I thought he was just a representation of part of Cloud's personality."

The wolf chuffed as if insulted.

Tifa almost wanted to smile. "Maybe we should have brought Nanaki along to translate."

For a little while they saw nothing but fog and heard nothing but their own feet. Then their guide stopped to growl at something they couldn't see.

Tifa shifted closer to the wolf, fists up. "What...?"

"Shh." Zack reached for his sword. "Listen."

Something within the fog shifted. The disturbed air whispered in its wake.

"Wimp."

"Stupid."

They huddled together facing out.

"Failure."

"Changling."

"Okay, most of this makes some sort of sense, but 'changeling?'" Zack glanced over his shoulder at Tifa with an eyebrow raised in confusion.

Tifa dropped her eyes to her boots. "It's a legend. A baby who's replaced with a fairy that brings misfortune."

"That... is twisted." Zack could think of several other things to say about Tifa and Cloud's hometown, none of them nice.

Though the mist continued to shift and whisper at them, nothing attacked. Aerith knelt next to the wolf to coax him into leading them on to wherever they were going.

"Worthless."

"Burden."

Slowly, the ground changed from a barren plain to a rough mountain pass. A familiar mountain pass from what little could be seen. So it came as little surprise to Tifa when the wolf led them into a cave speckled with glowing Lifestream. The fog seemed unable to enter the cave, despite its best efforts to press through the opening in the rock.

Around them, the tunnel warped and twisted unnaturally, the pale green light casting weird shadows that distorted their depth perception. Aerith stumbled more than once even after Zack gave her his arm for support.

"Is it much further?" Tifa held onto the thick scruff of the wolf's neck as she ducked through a particularly narrow opening.

The wolf whined as he stretched his head forward as far as it would go.

Soon, the tunnel opened up into a chamber that vaguely resembled the cave with the mako fountain. Only here, instead of a fountain, several large tree roots tangled around what looked like a giant shard of volcanic glass.

Another step closer and Tifa gasped, releasing her hold on the wolf.

"What is it?" Zack already had his hand on his sword.

"Cloud's in there."

Aerith squeezed past Zack so she could get a better look at the object. She held her staff in front of her vertically and closed her eyes. "She's right. Our Cloud is asleep inside. There's something else, too. That stone... it feels familiar."

"Is it Jenova?" Zack's grip on his sword tightened.

"No." Aerith looked down at the wolf, which had started pacing in front of the giant stone. "It's you, isn't it? Somehow, Cloud traded places with you."

The wolf stopped to glance over his shoulder at her. His ears drooped as he whined.

"Can't he switch back?" Zack's grip barely loosened. "What is he, anyway?"

Aerith shook her head. "It's not that simple. Cloud has to want to come back." She knelt next to the wolf. "This one has been with Cloud since the beginning. He led us here because we're the only ones who can wake Cloud up."

Zack turned to the stone. "Then let's get him out of there." He reached out to touch it.

ZAP!

Tifa and Aerith ducked to avoid the suddenly airborne SOLDIER. His collision with the cavern wall left several cracks but no other damage. Maybe a bruised ego.

"Yeah, that's definitely Cloud." Zack shook his head before standing. "Any ideas that don't involve me doing that again?"

The wolf huffed, his nose up toward the nearest knot of roots. The wood creaked in protest as a single large tendril separated from the main body. It snaked toward them, the tip expanding into an oval doorway.

"This is the way in?" Aerith took a step forward when the wolf nodded in response. Sensing the others following her, she half-turned toward them. "We should decide who goes first. Cloud's hidden himself in such a small part of his mind that it's probably very crowded. We might not all fit."

Zack crossed his arms. "I want to volunteer, but Tifa knows him better than I do."

"I wouldn't be so sure of that." Tifa pulled at the fingers of her glove as she considered their options. "I think Aerith should go first. Somehow, I feel that she understands what Cloud's going through more than us."

Zack scowled but nodded once. "But we're following right behind you in case we _can_ all fit in there."

Aerith smiled as she hugged her new husband. Now there was a concept she need time getting used to. "Wish me luck!"

One step inside the root and she was gone. Tifa and Zack rushed to follow.

* * *

 _Yeah, doing the 'journey to the center of the mind' thing again. What can I say? Cloud needs therapy. Lots of therapy. I also included a scene with a couple of our favorite Turks. Looks like Cissnei either didn't get her invitation or decided not to go._


	27. Cleaning Wounds

**Chapter 27 - Cleaning Wounds**

 _"What the hell's the matter with you!?"_

 _"That family's cursed, you know."_

 _"Get lost, freak."_

 _"There's something wrong with that boy."_

Bits of memory like shattered glass swirled around her. Tears threatened to burst from her eyes as she tried to find something even slightly happy in the maelstrom.

There! Scattered in with all the sadness, guilt, and resentment were images of a blonde woman wearing an old apron and a warm smile.

"I couldn't save her."

Aerith spun around to find herself standing on a tarnished mirror feet away from a little boy with chocobo hair.

The little Cloud stared at his broken and splotched reflection. "She spent her whole life taking care of me. She never once abandoned me even though I know some of the old folks wanted her to. I wanted so much to help, to prove that she didn't need to protect me, but when I got the chance..." Reflected fire rippled beneath the mirror's surface.

"I know." Aerith knelt before him, one hand on his shoulder and the other on his cheek. "My mother, my real mother, did the same for me. It was different because I could still feel my mother in the Lifestream for a while, but that's also why I can be sure that your mother had no regrets."

"That just makes it worse!" His little hands balled up into fists as the mirror started to crack. "You're _good_. You bring light and life wherever you go. Me, I..." He shook. Even wrapping him in a hug didn't help. His voice dropped to a whisper. "I'm scared of myself."

Aerith hugged him tight. "I know. I really do. We're not normal. Did you know that for a long time I didn't like things that weren't normal? But that was the same as not liking myself."

Cloud managed to look up at her when she said that, his eyes huge and glistening with tears.

"That's right." Aerith smiled. "By then I realized that I could do things and hear things others couldn't. It scared me. I thought, maybe, there was something wrong with me. So I pretended to be normal even though I still grew flowers and said strange things." She pulled Cloud more comfortably into her lap. "It took meeting Zack to realize that not being normal doesn't have to be a bad thing."

"I want to believe that."

A drop of water fell onto the top of Aerith's head. Until then she hadn't noticed the rain or that the mirror fire had gone out. Now they were sitting on a rippling pool of tarnished silver.

"Cloud?" She kept her eyes on the stormy sky far above. "Do you think all the Ancients were good? That they never made mistakes or argued with each other? If that was so, they wouldn't have made the black materia, would they?"

The storm above them lowered as fog closed in from all sides.

"Do you understand? Whether Ancient, human, or whatever Nanaki is, we're all people and can decide for ourselves if we're good or bad."

"I... I want to be good. I do. I'm just... scared."

"Of messing up?" Aerith kept her voice light as she watched the encroaching mists. "We all mess up. Did I ever tell you about all the flower wagons Zack made?"

Cloud sniffed. "I think so. But that's a wagon. When I mess up..."

The shrinking silver pool rippled with images of Mount Nibel and a young Tifa laying limp in someone's arms. A few smaller images showed abandoned toys and broken dishes.

"I'm sure if you asked Zack he could tell you about much bigger messes he made. Cloud?" She looked down to see the child in her arms grow transparent. "Cloud! Wait!"

"You have to go. Get out."

*7*7*

A storm of shattered glass. Each shard reflected part of a memory or blazed with emotion. The torrent left Tifa too dizzy to tell the good from the bad.

"Make it stop! Cloud! Please! I'm trying to help but..."

"I'm sorry."

Tifa felt a weight on her back. A moment later she realized she was laying face first on a slick, black stone. The storm continued to rage, but the presence above her kept the worst away.

"I'm sorry."

Cloud's voice.

"Why are you apologizing?"

"You're hurt because of me. You're always hurt because of me. I want to protect you but... I can't."

"What? Cloud, you _have_ protected me. You've been beside me for so long." She tried to turn so she could look at him. "You..."

"Stop!"

All the broken pieces of memory froze in the air reflecting a single moment of horror. Tifa stood in the center watching the scene unfold between bits of glass, Sephiroth using Cloud's body to assault her.

"That wasn't you!" Tifa spun around in a vain attempt to find her Cloud. "That was Sephiroth! You stopped him!"

"It could have been me." A teenage Cloud appeared far to her left. He hung his head in shame. "I've spent so long thinking... fantasizing about you. I wanted to impress you. I wanted to..."

Tifa stepped toward him.

"Stay back! I don't want to hurt you!"

"I know." Tifa smiled and took another step. "I know you, Cloud. In... In these fantasies did you ever once force yourself on me?"

Cloud's entire head turned scarlet. "Uh... No."

"Did you ever do anything I didn't want you to?"

The boy swallowed as he tried not to look at anything below Tifa's shoulders. "N-no."

"Cloud, I should be the one apologizing. I've been so uncertain, so caught up in my own problems that I never once thought..." She hugged the now completely petrified youth. "Remember that night under the Highwind? I still feel the same way. What happened in the Northern Cave scared me, yes, but it didn't make me stop loving you. I... I never stopped to think what effect it might have on you."

He trembled in her arms. "You can't... Tifa... I'm dying. Sephiroth is in my head again. Please, Tifa. I don't want to keep hurting you."

"Then live. Don't give up. Because you not being here with me _will_ hurt."

"I... I'll try." He suddenly went limp. "Just promise, if I don't... I want you to smile. I want you to find a reason to smile."

"Cloud?"

He winced. "You have to go."

"No! I'm not leaving you like this!"

"You have to!" He managed to push her back only to collapse without her support.

"Cloud!"

"Go!"

*7*7*

Zack pushed through yet another wall of half-formed shadows. "Cloud! This is your head so I know you're in here."

"You never give up on me."

"Yeah." Zack turned around. To his surprise, Cloud appeared in the same SOLDIER First uniform he'd worn during their time as fugitives. "We're friends."

"You've said that." Cloud looked away. "I just... I don't understand why. Tifa, Aerith, everyone... I don't understand. You're strong, a great leader, a hero... I... I've always failed."

Zack sighed and gripped one of Cloud's shoulders. "There's something I've got to tell you." He took a deep breath. "I had an awesome childhood. Lots of friends, great family, and aside from maybe getting turned into a frog there weren't all that many monsters nearby. I went on camping trips with my uncles. My aunts were constantly giving me sweets. And I still ran away from home when I was thirteen. Know why?"

Cloud just stared up at his friend.

"I wanted to be a hero." Zack chuckled as he shook his head. "You know, I made SOLDIER on my first try. Even got the attention of a First who then decided to mentor me. Man, I'm surprised I could walk through doorways with the swelled head I got."

"Uh, Zack? If this is supposed to make me feel better..."

Zack rubbed the back of his neck. "I'm getting there, honest. So... My mentor ended up defecting with a friend of his and I was sent on a bunch of missions looking for them." He shifted his hand to the hilt of his sword. "Do you remember what I said happened on our first mission together?"

Cloud nodded. "Yeah. You... had to kill your mentor. But you didn't..."

"I broke." Zack took a steadying breath. "The next day I was supposed to go on a date with Aerith. Instead of showing her a good time, she ended up comforting me while I cried. I was ready to give up, on SOLDIER, on being a hero, everything." He turned his face to where the sky should have been. "Some days... But that's just one thing." He looked Cloud straight in the eye and waved an arm back the way he came. "I just waded through half your life to get here. It _sucked_. But you kept going. You kept trying. Man, you're the hero."

Cloud shook his head as fast as he could. "No. No way."

Zack grabbed Cloud's shoulders. "Yes. You killed Sephiroth when I failed. You beat mako poisoning twice. You did everything you could to resist Sephiroth's control."

"But I failed. He never managed to control you or Kunsel."

"Because he never tried." Zack's grip tightened. "Think about it. If you're so weak, why would Sephiroth want to use you to come back?"

"I..." For several seconds, Cloud could only blink. Then something clicked as he set his shoulders back, lowered his eyebrows, and set his jaw. "We're leaving. Now."

And the darkness shattered.

A barren mountain pass under a cloudy sky opened up around them. Tifa and Aerith appeared in twin swirls of pyreflies. From behind them, Cloud's wolf padded silently toward his master.

"You did it!" Aerith hugged Cloud in a flying tackle. "I knew you'd come to your senses!"

Cloud seemed unsure what to do with his hands so he settled for hovering stiffly where they couldn't touch anything. "Uh. Yeah."

Aerith's smile turned to the wolf. "We wouldn't have found him without you. Thank you." With one hand still on Cloud's shoulder, she ruffled the fur on the wolf's head.

The moment she made that contact, light burst out in waves of dancing water and blooming flowers. Cold mountain springs cracked open. Soft mosses and tough grasses sprang up from new soil. Brambly bushes clung to life between rocks.

Tifa stared at the transformed landscape and the newly blue sky. "How... What is this?"

"It's Nibelheim." Cloud swayed as if he'd been hit in the face with a rock.

Zack propped Aerith up as she looked even more woozy than Cloud. "You sure? It looks kinda... lively."

"It's his Nibelheim." Aerith managed to wave a hand at the wolf, which was sniffing excitedly all around Cloud. "It's the Nibelheim he remembers."

"Uh huh." Zack glanced at each member of their little party. "Well, as nice as the change of scenery is, now might be a good time to return to our own bodies. Then maybe we can get a full explanation for what the heck just happened."

Aerith nodded slowly. "Hmm. That and a nap seem like good ideas."

* * *

 _And thus we reach the end of the Journey To The Center of Cloud's Mind Mach 2. Hope you enjoyed the trip. The chapter took_ _ **forever**_ _. I knew what I wanted to do with each character, it was the how that had me stumped in a few places. Especially Tifa, though I was expecting that. What surprised me was how much rewriting I ended up doing for Aerith and Zack. I particularly found myself dipping into author rant in Zack's part. Easy fix, though. Just delete the rant and continue on from there. The order the characters appeared in and the age Cloud looked to each of them was a carefully made decision, by the way. See if you can catch the symbolism._


	28. Changing Tactics

**Chapter 28 - Changing Tactics**

The promised explanation didn't come right away. Cloud remained asleep and the others agreed that they should as well in the few hours they had left before dawn. Aerith, especially, seemed ready to collapse, though from the way she smiled as Zack scooped her up, Tifa suspected she behaved that way on purpose.

For a little while, Tifa tried to sit by Cloud's bed waiting for him to wake up. Soon she leaned over, nestling her head against his shoulder. By the time Shera woke up, she'd managed to curl up in the narrow space between Cloud's side and the edge of the bed. The older woman smiled and quietly draped a blanket over both of them.

*7*7*

Only the palest hint of dawn stained the horizon, not enough to pierce the shadows surrounding the three 'brothers' still nursing their wounds from their humiliating battle. The oldest appearing of the three, Loz, strained to regrow his missing arm. The tainted Lifestream that composed his body frothed but little more than an inch of pale skin and black leather appeared before blue sparks halted his progress.

"Aahh! Stupid big brother! He wasn't supposed to do that!"

"Stop crying, Loz." Yazoo leaned against one of the few trees near where they fell, the stump of his left hand in his lap and his right leg oozing mist and ash.

Loz punched the ground with his remaining fist. "I'm not crying." Dark ash drifted from the corners of his eyes.

"Pathetic." Yazoo closed his eyes and leaned his head back against the tree. "Just wait for our brother's spirit energy to fade."

"It's taking too long!"

"Shut up!"

Yazoo only half opened his eyes to look at their smallest brother. Loz snorted but gave their unofficial leader his full attention.

Kadaj writhed on the ground, one arm uselessly trying to stem the tide of dark ash flowing from the long gash in his stomach. "Shut up! They're gone! All our almost brothers and sister! And now..." He gasped. "No! No! He can't! Traitor!"

Loz inched toward him. "Kadaj? Hey, what's wrong?"

"Stupid Loz." Kadaj bared his teeth in a hungry smile. "I know how to fix us."

"Yeah?" The earlier insult barely registered. "Then we can play?"

Yazoo leaned forward but otherwise didn't try to stop them.

Kadaj pulled himself a little closer to Loz. "Yeah... Come."

No further instruction was necessary. Loz nearly scampered over to the quivering mass of illusory flesh.

A moment later a dark-stained hand clamped around the stump of Loz's arm.

"Ow! Brother!"

"Shut up." Kadaj sank his teeth into the evil ichor and sucked.

Loz screamed, his entire being pulled, crushed, into a single point. For the first time, Yazoo felt fear. He tried to run but could only manage a frantic scramble with his remaining limbs. The worst part, even as he watched Loz's head twist into the void, was that part of him wanted this. Wanted to be devoured.

So when Kadaj turned glowing eyes on him, he stopped trying to escape. This was their fate. This was how they'd become whole.

*7*7*

Cloud woke to the most wonderful smell in the world and a face full of Tifa's hair. With her body pinning his right arm to his side, he had to use his left to clear his eyes.

That was when the strangest sensation struck him.

He sat up, nearly dislodging Tifa from the edge of the bed.

"Cloud? What's wro..." Any residual drowsiness left her the moment she saw him unwinding the bandage from his shoulder.

Underneath lay clean, unblemished skin.

"Cloud." She reached across him, hesitating a few moments before brushing the contours of his bicep with her fingertips. "You're cured! How? Never mind, that can wait until we tell everyone!"

She nearly tipped him onto his back hugging him. Cloud couldn't move, or think, for what felt like ages, but in reality was only a few seconds.

"Ah. Sorry." Blushing adorably, Tifa returned to the chair she'd occupied last night. "So, um, we should go find everyone."

Cloud swallowed. "Yeah."

Neither moved, though, far too preoccupied with the awkward atmosphere.

"How are you feeling?"

"Good."

"That's... good." Tifa mentally kicked herself. _What would Aerith do?_

"I feel... light." Cloud met Tifa's look of astonishment with a shy smile. "Guess I was carrying more than my share."

Tifa smiled with him. "You were. Come on." She grabbed his hand and started pulling him toward the door. "We can't keep this to ourselves, right?"

Cloud tried hard not to stare at their linked hands. An effort that proved futile, as he failed to notice anything else until Barret's voice boomed almost on top of him.

"Hey! Look who fin'lly 'cided ta wake up! Tha' jes' leaves the newlyweds still sleepin'."

Cid snorted smoke. "If they've done any sleepin', then I'm a tonberry."

"Cid!" Tifa felt her face heat up in embarrassment and indignation for her friends.

Next to her, Cloud lowered his brows in confusion. "But Aerith was... Zack said she was in trouble then..." He shook his head.

Tifa stared at Cloud for a moment then at their gathered friends. "How..."

"Zash paren'sh." Yuffie swallowed her jelly bread. "They said they woke up sometime last night and went out to check on Cloud. Guess the old crank here fell asleep on the job since he didn't see them."

"Watch your mouth, brat!"

"You first!"

"Hush!" Minny Fair marched in from the kitchen with another tray of food. "You're both acting like children!" She smiled at Cloud and Tifa. "So glad to see you feeling better. I don't know if anyone's thought to tell you, but the children are back and safe, as well."

Cloud started to nod before looking up at the stairs. A moment later, Zack hopped down.

"I smell food! And so did everyone else, apparently. Great! I was going to call a meeting, anyway."

His mom crossed her arms. "And Aerith?"

"Coming." He waggled a spoon in the general direction of the stairs between loading his plate. "Said I should come down and let everyone know we're okay." With a huge grin he looked over his shoulder and waved. "Hi!"

Eight greetings of various enthusiasm rose in response.

Cloud felt a warm puff of air on his left wrist.

"Your scent has changed."

"Hmm?" Cloud looked down to see Nanaki. He rubbed his arm where the diseased bruises had been. "Yeah. The geostigma is gone."

Nanaki dipped his nose. "I noticed, but that is not the change I meant. It is... hard to describe, but similar to the scent I've noticed sometimes in battle."

Tifa only heard that because of how close she stood to Cloud. She had to resist the urge to whip her head around, settling for giving Cloud a close look from the corner of her eye. He didn't look any different. More confident, perhaps, healthier, though that was to be expected. Certainly nothing worrisome.

Which reminded her...

"Everyone, there's more good news!" She gave Cloud a warm smile as she nudged him forward.

With all eyes on him, Cloud struggled to find somewhere to look that wasn't a face. "There's a cure... for geostigma."

Dead silence for all of one second, then the room exploded in cheers. Hands clapped his back and ruffled his hair. Everyone wanted to congratulate him or ask how he managed it. Cloud didn't know if he should panic or grin like a loon.

"Can someone tell me what's going on so I can join in?"

Cloud breathed a little easier when everyone turned their attention to Aerith. Even with Barret thumping him on the back.

"Ol' Spiky here's found a cure for geostigma! Dunno how he managed it, yet, but he did!"

If Cloud had been a turtle, he'd have pulled his head into his shell. "I wasn't..."

Aerith clapped her hands. "So that's what happened! I doubt we can visit everyone with the stigma the same way, but it's certainly a start."

"Huh?" Yuffie looked up at Cid. "What's she talking about?"

"What're ya askin' me for?"

Zack pumped a fist. "Right! So we've got a cure for geostigma and suspicious activity up north to investigate."

Kunzel ran a hand down his face. "Can you back that last one up a bit? What 'suspicious activity?'"

"Not sure." Zack pulled his phone out of his pocket. "Cissnei texted me sometime last night saying the Turks had been tracking movement in the crater. Whatever was down there left, but they lost track of it in a snowstorm.

That completely shattered Barret's good mood. "Nu-uh, no way. I am _not_ climbin' that #* &$ cliff again."

Zack rubbed the back of his head. "I'd rather avoid that, too. Does the Highwind have enough fuel to get us up there?"

Cid knocked some cigarette ash into a potted plant. "Yep. Now ask me if there'd be any left for a return trip."

"Great." Zack pinched the bridge of his nose. A moment later, he shook his head. "We still need to... whoa!"

Several of the people present stepped forward as Zack tipped sideways. Thankfully, he caught himself before damaging either the floor or a well-intentioned friend.

Kunsel frowned. "Zack, answer honestly. How do you feel?"

"Dizzy." The newly-married man let out a half-hearted laugh. "Been busy the last few days and I spent most of last night outside my body. If this is the worst of it, I'm probably doing pretty good."

Aerith stroked her husband's back. "Are you sure?"

"Yep!" Zack even did a couple squats to prove his point. "So, any other suggestions for getting up there?"

"We might not have to."

All eyes once again turned to Cloud. He swallowed but otherwise didn't betray any sign of nervousness.

"I don't remember everything from last night but... the kids were held by three men who resembled Sephiroth."

Any lingering mirth drained from Zack's face. "Copies?"

Cid muttered a string of curses. "You talkin' 'bout those creeps in black cloaks? There were more of 'em?"

Cloud shook his head. "I don't think so. The w... They seemed different."

"Who cares?" Yuffie twirled in a little dance. "You already beat them so we don't have to fly to that freaky crater! We won!" Her good mood dropped with Cloud's eyebrows. "Right?"

"I... don't know." Cloud pressed his fingers into his forehead. "They were... wounded. Not dead. Not yet."

Cid huffed. "Guess we're gonna find out. Shouldn't be too hard to follow the tracks back."

After less than a moment's hesitation Cloud took half a step forward. "I'll go, too."

"And me." Tifa grabbed Cloud's hand.

Zack nodded, and winced. "Sounds good to me. Anyone else want to volunteer? The rest of us will be doing boring planning and... Um... Stuff."

Aerith ran a hand down his arm. "Zack?"

"I'm fine. Really."

* * *

 _It's probably safe to say that Zack isn't fine. This wouldn't be my first choice for a chapter break, but it's in the right place and the next scene is a little long. Oh well._

 _Struggled a bit with this chapter. Transitions are never easy. Then I had to go and realize that something I had planned was no longer relevant and, well, here we are._


	29. Define Alive

**Chapter 29 - Define Alive**

In the end, the search party consisted of Cid, Cloud, Tifa, and Nanaki. Barret almost joined but death glares from the women and a reminder that he'd promised Marlene he'd be there when she woke up kept him back.

Kunsel stayed behind to keep an eye on Zack. Watched and waited until they were unlikely to be overheard.

"You aren't 'fine.'"

Zack glanced up from the mish-mash of possible plans they'd come up with in the last hour. "Sure I am. What makes you think I'm not?"

"Because I've known you since boot camp. The first and only time I've seen you sick was that first day on army rations."

"Oh, yeah. I remember that." Zack shuddered. "There was a line for the toilet stalls."

"I know, and that's not the point. There's something other than stress and spending a few hours outside your body going on here, and I really don't like how it just happens to coincide with Cloud's mystery cure."

"It's not that mysterious."

Both SOLDIERs jumped at Aerith's unexpected entrance. She giggled at them.

"Sorry. I meant to explain earlier but I got distracted." She focused on Zack with a stern look. "Partially by you. Kunzel's right, there's something wrong whether you realize it or not."

Zack looked ready to argue, but ended up deflating into a chair, instead. "Yeah, you're probably right. There's this constant sort of... static in my head. I still think it's from what happened while we were in the Lifestream last night."

Aerith and Kunzel exchanged worried looks. Aerith knelt by her husband and held his hand. "If you're right, that's not just a headache. Zack, I'm... I'm afraid to ask, but... does the static sound like voices?"

"I..." Zack's eyes widened. He swallowed before managing to answer. "Yeah. Kinda."

Aerith laid her head on Zack's knee. "Last night we went into Cloud's mind to help him let go of his guilt. Without that as an anchor, the Calamity was vulnerable and... we could drive it out of him. The taint is still there, but the Calamity no longer has any hold on him."

"Why do you sound like that's a bad thi..." Kunzel groaned and leaned against the dining table. "Sephiroth can't mess with Cloud anymore, so now he's targeting Zack."

"I'm so sorry. I should've guessed earlier."

"Hey." Zack gently tilted her head up so he could look her in the eyes. "Curing Cloud was a good thing." He winced. "And what were we supposed to do? Cure me first? I didn't even have geostigma. Still don't, as far as I can tell."

Kunsel shifted his feet. "About that cure... how are you going to visit everyone's mind and sort out their problems? We don't even know how many SOLDIERs are left."

Aerith and Zack snapped to attention, staring in such a way that Kunsel felt like he'd said something strange. Finally, Aerith managed to think of a response.

"I don't think that'll be necessary. The Calamity was focused on Cloud. For everyone else..." She sucked in a breath. "Oh."

Zack blinked. "Oh? Oh, what?"

"I know what to do." She smiled as she stood up. "I can't tell you what it is, but don't worry, it's not dangerous. I promise."

"Okay." Zack's nod turned into a sharp grimace halfway through. "No, really, if you told us it might _become_ dangerous. Ah!"

Aerith and Kunzel jumped to support him as he nearly fell out of the chair. They weren't needed for long, as Zack quickly got his feet under him.

"Wow. No wonder Cloud's been so gloomy. Aerith, do what you have to, just... try not to do it alone, okay?"

Aerith answered with a hug.

A moment later, Kunsel slipped out the front door.

*7*7*

Cid leaned on his spear and whistled. "&%$^, kid. When ya said it wouldn't be hard to spot, ya weren't $^# kiddin'."

Burns and ragged furrows crisscrossed around the mangled remains of the truck. A few feet away, a tree stuck out of the ground, its roots spread in the air. Cloud, Ame no Murakumo in hand, stepped toward a different tree, one that looked mostly undisturbed. Two steps and he jerked to a halt.

"What is it, Cloud?" Tifa started toward him, stopping mid-step when he snapped his fist up.

Nanaki growled in the direction of the tree. "That place smells wrong, even accounting for Jenova's taint."

Cid held his spear at the ready. "'Wrong' don't tell us much. It alive or what?"

With some effort, Cloud strode closer to the amorphous scar below the tree. Tendrils ran up the roots onto the trunk, leaving behind brittle, lifeless wood. He stopped a few feet away, looking sick.

"They're gone."

"'Gone' don't tell us much, either."

Cloud frowned at the ruined soil. "They... didn't die."

Tifa started searching the rest of the battlefield. "So they're still alive? Where did they go?"

"Sure as hell didn't stick around here."

Nanaki looked like he was trying to pull his nose into his face. "I will... attempt to pick up their scent."

As Nanaki shuffled off, Cid approached Cloud, spear on his shoulder and cigarette clenched between his teeth. "So, ya said they didn't die. Were they ever alive in the first place?"

Cloud stared at Cid for several seconds before turning back to the black scar with a shrug. "I guess it depends..."

Cid snorted. "Well, that's just #$&% awesome. I 'spose the answer to 'can they be killed' is 'depends,' too."

"Probably."

Tifa carefully slid next to Cloud so she could hug his arm. "Hey, it's going to be okay. We'll beat them."

Nanaki trotted up soon after. "The trail disappears a few yards in that direction." He pointed his muzzle toward the south-east. "As if they took flight. I find it strange, though. You said there were three of these copies?"

Cloud gave a single nod.

"And yet I could only pick up a single scent."

"So that means the other two died, right?"

Cid's frown deepened. "So where the #&$% are the bodies?"

Cloud shifted his weight. "SOLDIERs and those like them don't leave bodies, but... I don't think... Which way were they headed?"

Nanaki pointed again.

"Gongaga."

Cloud had already started running before the word fully left his mouth.

"Hey, kid! We've got a, ah &#$#." Cid jogged a few paces before giving up. "He'll probably get there before us, anyhow."

Tifa stared after Cloud for a moment before following Cid. She reached the old farm truck just as Cid answered his phone.

"Aerith? What the hell're ya callin' for? Yeah, we're headed back now. Listen, those copies or whatever they are now are headed yer way. Cloud's got a head-start on us but we should be back in an hour or so. Assumin' I can get this #$^* piece o' junk ta work." He muttered a few more unprintable complaints as he wrestled with the clutch.

Tifa snatched the phone away as she slid in the passenger side. "Is something wrong?"

 _"Yes and no. Zack's... sick, but I have a way to cure him and everyone else, too. I was going to ask Cid for a ride but... I think I can make do with what's here."_

"You're sure?"

 _"Yep! Now about the copies. Should we evacuate?"_

Tifa took several deep breaths as she thought. "Yes. Find out if there are any safe places to hide, you may need more than one."

 _"Understood. Safe travels."_

"Yeah. And good luck."

*7*7*

Kunsel saw people running about gathering supplies. With great effort, he turned away, refusing to speculate on the reason. He'd almost gotten himself distracted when Yuffie hopped toward him.

"Hey! Town's evacuating, so Aerith said you have to stay in the bath house with Zack!"

Kunzel slapped his palm over his face. "Don't tell me that!"

Yuffie set her little fists on her nonexistent hips. "Tell you what? It's pretty obvious what we're doing. The point is you won't see which way we're going."

"Fine, fine. You're taking the people with geostigma somewhere else, right?"

"Yep!" Yuffie grinned as she spun on her toes. "Barret and Cait already left with them. The kids don't wanna be separated, so they're all going together and Barret's being all giant-monster-papa over Marlene. Cait's going 'cause the kids like him."

Kunsel stood, turning toward the door. "You better go do whatever you're going to. Zack and I'll be fine."

Yuffie's face went uncharacteristically serious. "Make sure of that."

He closed the door between them. In the middle of the floor, Zack sat with his head back staring at the ceiling.

"Gotta apologize to Cloud for giving him a rough time. I've never had so much trouble thinking of something happy in my life."

"Somehow, I don't think he'll accept it." Kunsel sat against the opposite wall. "Gongaga's evacuating, so something big's headed this way. We're staying behind."

Zack nodded. "We're less of a risk here and we could do some good. Wish I could ask if Aerith's going with everyone else."

"She's probably off doing... whatever it is she's got planned."

"Stinks that no one can tell us anything, huh?"

Kunsel huffed. "I'm used to it. This is probably the geostigma, but I've been thinking about my family a lot lately."

Zack sat up a little. "Yeah?"

"Yeah. Dad... well, he was hardly ever around and never told us where he was or when he was coming back. Mom must've gotten tired of it because one day she just up and left. No good-bye, no warning, nothing. Then Dad sent me to a military boarding school. You know, one with those special classes for prospective Turks. Don't know why they bother, the Turks only ever hire from the program every two or three years, if that." Kunsel scratched his chest. "Anyway, I knew Dad wanted me to be a Turk, it was one of the few things he ever talked about. So as soon as I turned fourteen, I quit school and signed up with SOLDIER."

"Huh. Thanks for making me feel a little more guilty for having great parents."

Kunsel's smile looked more like a grimace. "Sorry."

* * *

 _The chapter ending was a bit slow. I know. I wanted to show some of what was going on in Gongaga, explore a little bit of geostigma's depression effect, and reveal some of Kunsel's background. Seriously, I think Zack may well be the only character in the entire franchise with a normal childhood. Angeal might qualify, if he wasn't the unintended consequence of a science experiment, his mother wasn't under constant surveillance by ShinRa, and the man who raised him actually was his biological father._

 _Granted, we don't know anything about Cid, Barret, or Vincent's childhoods, but I'm pretty sure only two of them had any chance of a normal upbringing. I mean, come on, Vincent became a Turk. Normal people don't do that._


	30. Exile

**Chapter 30 - Exile**

Aerith stood in the sun-dappled clearing, one hand holding a pendulum made of string and a small mako stone over her oposite palm. The little pendulum swung in lazy circles as she stepped side to side.

Behind her, Yuffie tried to get a better look without getting too close. Aerith had already given a couple of stern warnings and the young ninja didn't want to try for a third.

"So what are we looking for, anyway? It's materia, right? It's gotta be materia. I told everyone there had to be a materia that cures geostigma but no one ever takes me seriously."

"If you don't mind, this takes more than a little concentration."

Yuffie puffed loudly. "Fine. Gods, this is boring."

"Hmm." Aerith turned slightly to the right. "This way."

Several more minutes of boredom, punctuated by a chance to take out some frustrations on a group of unfortunate toads, found the young women at the edge of a clear, almost perfectly circular pool. Pretty, but not a mako fountain.

"This is it? What, we're going to take a bath?"

Aerith knelt on the smooth stones edging the pool. "This was a sacred place, once. It still holds a connection to the planet."

"Sacred?" Yuffie spun in a circle. "There isn't even a path here! I dunno what's worse, this or Wutai turning our shrines into tourist traps."

"Forgotten. So long. The source?" Aerith crawled along the edge of the pool. "Near. Yes. I feel it."

"Uh, right." Yuffie shuffled a few steps away. Strictly to keep a better eye out for monsters, of course.

Aerith pushed aside from creeping undergrowth, revealing a crack in the rocks where the water bubbled up. She dusted off her dress as she stood. "Right. Now, the first step was salt, right?"

"Huh? Wait, you're going to do a purification ritual on a spring? How's that going to help?"

"You'll see." Aerith pulled an envelope out of her jacket pocket and started to sprinkle salt in a circle around her. "Spirits of the earth, lend ear to the sacred words that no offenses shall remain unpurged. They shall be scattered and blown afar by divine winds descending through the eight-fold clouds."

With that she knelt and pulled out bundles of herbs that she set to her right and left. Carefully, she lit a match and touched it to each bundle. That done, she folded her hands in prayer.

"Great." Yuffie flopped down against a nearby tree. Maybe if this all got too boring she'd climb it to find a phone signal.

*7*7*

Cloud tore a path through the jungle undergrowth, only altering course when a tree thicker than his body stood in his way. Not once did he slow down.

Not until the dark mist shrouded his sight.

"You're here!" The voice sounded childishly demented. "When you rejected Mother's invitation we were so worried you'd abandoned us."

Cloud held his sword in both hands, searching the shadows for any trace of movement.

"But then we realized..."

There.

"... you'd abandoned us long ago."

He nearly dropped his sword at the sight of the thing waddling toward him. Impossibly thin legs ended in root-like tentacles. One bone-white hand stroked its bulbous stomach while the other played with an oily katana. Silver hair hung in limp clumps over skeletal shoulders.

"Mother was kind. Mother gave you a second chance. A chance you threw away!"

The strike came almost too fast for Cloud to block. He jumped back to gain a little space.

The thing hissed as it followed him.

"Traitor."

Cloud parried a swing to his legs, earning a cut on his arm.

"You should be punished."

A deeper cut to his side.

"You _deserve_ to be punished."

Cloud ducked one strike only to step into another.

"We should _kill_ you."

A blur and Cloud felt steel slide between his ribs. The thing pulled him back to whisper in his ear.

"But Mother loves her children. She's willing to let you say goodbye to your friends before our Reunion." It jabbed the katana in deeper just to see Cloud wince. "After all, _they're_ still invited."

"No..." Cloud couldn't get out another word before the thing shoved him off the sword. Unbalanced and in pain, he collapsed in the dirt.

The darkness oozed back through the trees. "You abandoned us, now everyone will abandon you."

"Stay... away from them!" Still doubled over, Cloud lunged at the last tendrils of darkness.

It did nothing but aggravate his wounds.

He had to think. Breathe. A little difficult with one lung full of blood, but he'd had worse.

It said he'd get a chance to say goodbye, so even if it reached Gongaga first it probably wouldn't act until he was there to watch.

But if he dilly-dallied too long it might act anyway and rub his tardiness in his face.

"Damn it!" He punched a hole in the forest floor. This... remnant of Sephiroth's had him trapped with no way out.

All he could do was move forward and hope his friends were stronger than him.

*7*7*

Tifa learned soon after returning to the village that Gongagans were not the sort to simply abandon their village. No, every man, woman, and even most of the children had armed themselves before leaving.

Moreover, they insisted on going to the reactor ruins.

"Isn't that a rather obvious destination?" Tifa caught up with the Fairs near the head of the procession.

"This isn't the first time something's tried to force us from our homes." Mrs. Fair tapped her off hand with her frying pan. "The jungle is always trying to reclaim what we carved out for ourselves, so we learn from an early age how to fight back. Most importantly for this situation, we learn how to survive until we can come back stronger."

Mr. Fair nodded. "To that end, we'll need a fortified location. There are a few places we can use, but for an enemy that can think, we'll need extra materials."

"And those materials are at the reactor site."

"Exactly!" With that, Mr. Fair fell back to discuss something with one of the other village men.

Tifa thought that was the end of it until they reached the ruins. While she helped sort pieces on one of the handcarts, Reeve called her to one side along with Cid.

"I'm concerned about the evacuation plans. This isn't my area of expertise, so I wanted to consult both of you first."

Tifa could guess why Reeve would want to talk to Cid but... "Why me?"

Reeve coughed into his fist. "I wanted more than one opinion and while you may not exactly have military experience, you do have a level head and, ah, relevant knowledge."

Cid knocked a bit of ash off his cigarette. "Y're from the armpit o' nowhere, same as this place."

Tifa sniffed as she crossed her arms. "Oh? And you're not? From what I heard, where you're from doesn't even have a name."

"That's the _assend_ o' nowhere."

Reeve pinched the bridge of his nose. "If we could return to the matter at hand. I've talked to a few of the village elders and our final destination is apparently one of a few spots they use in case of emergency."

"That fits what I've heard. After all, the people who live here would know where the best places are."

Cid nearly bit his cigarette in two as he swore. "So why the hell'd we leave Zack behind?"

"So he wouldn't..." Tifa's hand flew to her mouth. "But... you said there were other spots, too, right? He wouldn't necessarily know which one we're using."

"I certainly hope so. Most of the villagers think Zack and Kunzel remained behind to cover their retreat and watch for Cloud. If we have to change locations, I'm not sure how to explain it."

"Speakin' o' Cloud, I'm surprised he didn't get to Gongaga before us the way he tore off." Cid snorted out a puff of smoke. "Would be just our luck to go to all this fuss and he's beat the bad guys already."

That seemed rather optimistic to Tifa. Then again, there was still whatever Aerith was working on and they didn't know if Sephiroth would even try to take control of Zack and Kunsel.

*7*7*

"So did they ever get the stain out of the barracks hallway?"

"I heard they ended up tearing everything out down to the subfloor."

Zack threw his head back laughing. "Man! Guess the drill instructor was right. I still don't know how you got pepio sap to do that." A moment later his expression turned serious as he leaned forward. "Did you hear that?"

Kunsel shook his head.

"There's something moving out there." Zack crept toward the door. "Where'd you leave your sword?"

"Just around the corner, behind the woodshed."

"I left mine in the kitchen... Don't laugh."

"Wasn't going to." Which would have been more convincing if Kunsel's voice hadn't sounded so strained.

Once outside, they couldn't see anything unusual. Aside from a distinct lack of people, of course, but they knew about that.

Kunzel grabbed his sword. "There's no point staying in the bath house. Why don't we do a sweep of the village?"

"Good idea. I'll circle around the front, you take the back. We'll meet up at Uncle Phil's shop."

The plan seemed fine at first, and Kunsel readily agreed. When he reached the west end of the village without seeing anything out of place, however, he started to have his doubts. He cut through several yards hoping to catch up with Zack.

And quickly regretted that decision.

Kunsel had his sword up before he could brace himself for the blow. He could feel the blade crack. Standard weapons just weren't built to take the full power of a SOLDIER First.

"Zack! Wake up!" Kunsel rolled under another attack. In the time it took Zack to turn around, he'd jumped onto the roof of a nearby house.

That bought him maybe two seconds to think.

Aside from attacking a friend, Zack still moved like Zack. He even used the dull edge of the Buster Sword. Not that Kunsel would be any less dead if hit in the wrong place.

So, that ruled possession out, which didn't make Kunsel feel any better. The only alternative he could think of was hallucination. The question was, which one of them was hallucinating?

* * *

 _My treatment of the remnants is part of my general strategy of emphasizing Jenova's nature as an eldritch abomination. It's also partially a response to the many_ _ **many**_ _fanfics that portray the remnants as actual clones or otherwise victims of Hojo's experimentation._

 _Other than that, a little plot movement and a few complications._


	31. Barter

**Chapter 31 - Barter**

Cloud felt like a complete idiot. A green, web-footed idiot. Bad enough he froze up when the remnant appeared, he _knew_ Gongaga's frogs inflicted this status effect. He should have kept his eyes open. Or remembered to wear a ribbon. He couldn't tell how long he'd been asleep, so he had no idea how long the transformation would last or even what direction to go.

So he sat and sulked.

All while Sephiroth did gods knew what.

Something shifted the undergrowth. Cloud hunkered down and hoped that whatever it was didn't like the taste of frog.

Moments later, a pair of (to him) enormous, pointed, armored boots stopped less than a foot in front of him. Cloud looked up just in time for a faceful of maiden's kiss.

The sputtering only lasted a couple seconds. A couple seconds too long, as far as Cloud was concerned.

"Vincent, where... what..." Cloud hung his head over his knees. "How did you find me?"

"You left a path."

Cloud huffed and stood. He took a couple steps in what he thought was the right direction before stopping. "Do you know what I'm following?"

" same entities the Turks were following from the Northern Crater. Except now there seems to be only one." Vincent's cape swirled around him as he strode past Cloud. "A fragment of Jenova's legacy seeking to bring calamity to this world." He turned just enough to glance back at the much younger man. "The question now is, what will you do about it?"

"I don't know." Cloud's head drooped. "I thought I could fight, but... Even if I win, he'll just keep coming back, right?"

Vincent dipped his chin a little further into his cloak. "Probably."

"So we really are just delaying the inevitable."

Vincent didn't reply or even stop walking. This was it. Everything they fought for and sacrificed came to nothing.

The kids with their dreams of a fortress-house. Yuffie's stubborn wish for a restored Wutai. All the people building a new city. Barret's devotion to Marlene and her future. Elmyra welcoming complete strangers into her home. Kunsel continuing to live despite his illness. Cid's quest for a new fuel source. Marlene's smile. Zack and Aerith having enough hope in the future that they got married. Tifa's unwavering strength and encouragement.

"No."

Vincent paused.

Cloud squared his shoulders. "There has to be a way. I don't care what it takes, I won't let everything we've fought for be in vain."

*7*7*

Before Holy burst out of the planet's core, the Northern Crater had been a labyrinth of caves and crumbling ledges populated by some of the deadliest monsters ever seen.

After, only a gaping hole remained. Zack and his friends had escaped just before the planet sealed off the path to the core with what Shinra's instruments estimated as nearly a mile of solid rock.

Every ounce of common sense Cissnei possessed told her that nothing could have survived down there.

Then again, people with far more experience than her had said the same thing last time Sephiroth supposedly died. She couldn't blame ShinRa or the Turks for wanting to be sure.

She could blame them for a lot of other things, just not this. It certainly didn't stop her from helping. Maybe Reno was right about this being their shot at redemption.

The helicopter's radio crackled as Tseng called in. " _Target located. Securing perimeter now. Over._ "

"Roger, standing by." Cissnei switched off the mic and stared out at the fog and shadows obscuring the world around her. "I don't like this. If those figures earlier were related to Sephiroth, why did they leave it behind?"

Shotgun shrugged. "It wasn't part of their mission."

"That's what worries me. What could possibly have been a higher priority than this?"

"We'll probably find out when the others report in."

" _Target secure. Heading back up. Over._ "

"Roger. Stay safe, you two. Out."

 _And please let me be wrong._

*7*7*

The quiet in Gongaga set Zack on edge. He scanned the yards and dirt paths from one of the more level rooftops for any sign of movement.

A splotch of yellow and Zack was on the ground, sword out and two seconds from feeling sheepish.

"Cloud! Man, am I glad to see you. There's some sort of monster wandering around and I haven't seen Kunzel since we split up at the bath house."

"Oh." Cloud cocked his head slightly. "We better look for him, then."

Zack nodded as he turned back toward the village center. "Yeah. And this time we stick together."

*7*7*

Cowering in a woodshed near the edge of town wasn't Kunsel's first, or second, choice.

Neither was having a geostigma attack.

He managed to keep his breathing under control for most of it. In. Out. Ignore the pain. In. Out. Ignore the flashbacks. In. Out.

"Kunsel?"

He jumped to his feet only to pitch forward from the sudden change in elevation. Someone with a SOLDIER's strength caught him on the way down.

"Sorry."

"Cloud?" Kunsel shook his head. "What? How?"

"Vincent saw you heading this way." Cloud helped Kunsel sit on a log. "Do you... Can I help?"

Kunsel tried to chuckle, but it came out as more of an amused gasp. "You already did. Assuming you aren't a hallucination, anyway."

"Uh... And if I am?"

"Then I'm pretty sure you wouldn't have asked that question."

Cloud just stood there looking confused, so Kunsel decided to elaborate.

"Zack and I split up to patrol the village a while ago. Next time I saw him, he attacked me. I think. It could have been a hallucination, or he was hallucinating that I was a monster. I don't know." Kunsel shrugged. "Assuming you're real, if we both see the same thing, then that's real, too."

Cloud's expression darkened as he stepped away. "I'll get Vincent. Can you walk?"

Kunsel nodded. "Just give me a sec."

It took longer than a second, but by the time Vincent soundlessly materialized next to the woodshed, Kunsel was on his feet.

"We'll look for Zack first, then get the truck," Cloud finished his explanation to Vincent. He turned toward Kunsel. "I've... got an idea how to deal with the remnant, but it means getting our summon materia."

Kunsel bent over laughing. "Ow. Aerith was way ahead of you."

*7*7*

Inside the Fair house, Kunsel went straight to his duffel bag. Vincent stayed near the door as a lookout.

Kunsel handed the sack of red stones to Cloud. "So how are the summons going to help?"

"Just one, and..." Cloud reached into the bag.

Vincent drew his gun. "We've been spotted."

Cloud hesitated a moment before slotting the materia he'd grabbed into his arm guard. "Stall him."

"What?" Kunsel spun away from the door. "You aren't going to summon that in..."

Rings of burning red etched with strange symbols burst out of Cloud's arm guard. His body faded, leaving the summon materia floating in midair.

"Great. I really hope Cloud knows what he's doing." Kunsel slid next to Vincent to get a look out the window. His stomach dropped to his boots. "What the hell? Vincent, Cloud did just suck himself into a summon's pocket space, right?"

"He did."

Kunsel swallowed. "So what am I looking at?"

*7*7*

The barren, crumbling rocks of Nibelheim spread out and up toward the clouds, illuminated only by an enormous harvest moon. Atop the tallest spire of rock stood a white, six-legged horse with a blood-red mane. His rider nudged the beast forward into blinding gallop down the ravine. The Master of the Hunt's armor glowed orange as if on fire.

Cloud held his ground as horse and rider reared over his head. Four iron-shod hooves cut the air less than a foot from his head.

Odin pulled Slepnir back so he could glare down at the one who summoned him. "Ye should not exist." His voice echoed with no origin.

"That's not..."

Odin thrust his lance down so it almost touched Cloud's nose. "The war of the beasts is over. My wolves no longer howl at Gaia's moon. _Ye should not exist_."

At those words, dark chains rattled up Cloud's arms and down his chest. One end looped the air near his hip. As the chain tightened, his wolf materialized with its neck held fast.

The wolf lowered its head as far as it could and growled.

"So Gaia's daughter has bound you, it matters not. What is mine shall be returned."

"Not yet!" Cloud grabbed the chain around his wolf's neck as well as Odin's lance just below the head. "You can do what you like with me, but first I have to save my friends. I need your help."

The blue fire filling Odin's eyes burned down at him. "So it is power ye wish for? It was such a desire that lead the All-Mother's champion to taint himself with the Calamity. It was such a desire that invited the Calamity to this world. Now the wheels are in motion. Ragnarok is coming."

Cloud's grip tightened as he kept Odin's gaze. "I don't care. My friends are still fighting for their futures, so I'm going to keep fighting for them. Someone once told me that determination without strength is meaningless. If you don't have the determination, at least lend me your strength."

For almost a minute, neither moved. Then Odin laughed. He pulled his spear out of Cloud's grasp and laughed.

"For two thousand years I have aided those who called upon the fragments of my memories. A few thanked me for this service. Some worshiped me as a god. Most saw only a powerful spell to be used and forgotten. None had the audacity to enter my realm and speak to me as an equal."

Odin struck the butt of his spear against his boot. "Hear me, child of the mountain, had Gaia's daughter not purged the Calamity from you, I would have run you through before you had a chance to speak. It is for this reason alone that I do not cut you down for your impudence." His eyes narrowed. "But perhaps there is some wisdom in the words of this age. Power will be yours, if you are willing to pay the price."

* * *

 _Oh, there's so much headcanon going on in here, especially that last scene. I don't know how much I'll be able to reveal within the narrative, though, unless I find some way to write from the point of view of the summons. It's taking every ounce of willpower I have not to spill it all in the author notes._

 _As for everything else... I was all prepared to write a happy ending several chapters ago but then_ _ **Cloud**_ _had to go and realize that Jenova!Sephiroth is effectively immortal. Now I have no idea how this is going to turn out._

 _(Archaic pronoun forms are_ _ **hard**_ _. I have to keep track of what the object and subject of the sentences are.)_


	32. Distraction

**Chapter 32 - Distraction**

'Stall him.' A simple instruction that soon proved irritating as Vincent tried to keep the Cloud look-a-like's attention away from Kunsel's fight with Zack.

"Why don't you hit back?" It's grin spread unnaturally wide as it whacked at Vincent's raised gauntlet. "Is it my face? Do you like it?"

Without looking, Vincent drew his gun and pressed it against the look-a-like's chest. Just as he pulled the trigger, a hole opened, letting the bullet pass unimpeded.

The look-a-like leaned in closer. "Oopsy. You missed."

"Thank you."

"Huh?"

*7*7*

Kunsel heard the gun fire just before Zack flinched. They both jumped back.

Zack stared at the small wound in his forearm. "A bullet? When did...?" He blinked several times as his focus jumped from where Kunsel stood to the stalled fight nearby. "Cloud? Why are you... Is that Vincent? Kunsel? Oh man." Zack fell on his butt staring at his friend. "What just happened?"

The Cloud look-a-like screamed as it lunged toward Zack. It flowed around Vincent's hands as he tried to grab it.

Both Kunsel and Zack braced for impact.

It never came.

Cloud burst from the Fairs' house trailing blue fire.

Look-a-like and original locked blades.

The imposter giggled. "So glad you could make it, brother! You're just in time for..."

"Shut up."

Ame no Murokumo flashed white, sending the look-a-like stumbling back screaming.

Kunsel slid a bit closer to Zack. "Uh, how're you feeling?"

"Confused." Zack's eyes darted between the two Clouds. "Am I the only one seeing double?"

"No."

"Right. So I'm guessing the real one is the one _not_ steaming black."

"What?" Kunsel focused closer on the look-a-like. It's sword and hands were pitted as if sprayed with acid. Wisps of black smoke rose from the pits.

And it kept screaming and thrashing as Cloud slowly walked toward it.

"You're incomplete." Cloud held Ame no Murokumo loosely at his side. "A ghost."

The imposter's face started to melt and shift. It's hair grew as it lost color. "And I will haunt you forever! You think you can protect these pathetic humans? Mother will return! There is nothing you can do to stop it!"

"I know."

Everyone, even the imposter, jerked back.

Cloud turned his eyes to the sky. "But I'm not the only one fighting."

A single drop of rain hit Kunsel's cheek. Then another struck his arm. Then another.

And Zack screamed.

*7*7*

Somewhere deep in the Gongagan jungle, Barret sulked at the water dripping from the leaves overhead.

"Ain't that jes' our luck. Thought this was 'sposed ta be Gongaga's dry season."

Cait pulled his tail away from Alan for the tenth time in so many minutes. "So 'tis. Dunna mean they ain't gonna ha' any rain." He scrambled up onto Marlene's shoulders. "A friendly wee shower ne'er hurt no one, ain't that right, lassie?"

Marlene nodded solemnly. "Rain is good for flowers. Aerith said so."

"Yeah? Well it ain't so great for metal." Barret shifted his gun-arm on his knee. "An' I dun' wanna see ya catching cold, neither."

That got a bit of an argument going among the children. A few of the older ones hoped this meant they could go back to the village while the younger ones wanted to find puddles to splash in. The only ones not involved were Cole and Denzel, who sat unresponsive under a tree near Barret.

A raindrop hit the back of Denzel's hand.

Another dripped off a leaf onto Cole's shoulder.

"Hey. Hold up." Owain pushed away from the quickly escalating fight. "I think they moved."

The forest fell silent except for the steady pitter-patter of the rain. More drops fell. On Cole. On Denzel. On Barret. On Cait and all the children.

Slowly, Denzel tilted his head back. A raindrop hit near his eye.

He blinked.

The youngest kids gasped.

Alan pointed. "He move!"

Then Cole groaned.

That one noise set off an explosion of sound as the kids surged forward, a thousand questions overlapping. Barret tried to hold them back, but they just scrambled around or under him. Cait, entangled in the mob, grabbed Barret's flesh arm as if it was a lifeline.

"Hey!" Barret tried to turn around without stepping on anyone. "Let'em have some air!"

No one listened except Marlene. She tried to pick up Alan, the only one smaller than her. He stomped on her foot.

"Ow!"

"That **does it**!"

Everyone, even Denzel and Cole, jumped.

Barret loomed over the kids. "All a' ya git back an' sit quiet!"

Alan whimpered in Marlene's arms. Dale hiccuped. Alan bawled. Amy dragged Dale away while the older kids tried to herd the younger ones out of Barret's shadow.

Denzel winced. Cole shifted toward the other kids.

Cait perched on Barret's shoulder scratching his tiny chin as he watched the two boys. "Duncha think it odd how they jes started movin' now?"

"Wha'chu talkin' 'bout? They ain't the problem here." Barret grabbed Cait by the back of his cape and swung him down to the forest floor. "Now settle them kids down."

Behind them, Denzel tilted his head as if listening to something. "Mom?"

"Wait!" Cole lurched forward, nearly burying his face in moss and dirt.

Everyone stopped again. They stared transfixed as the two boys staggered to their feet.

"Where am I?" Denzel shook his head. "I don't... My head doesn't hurt?"

Cole grabbed his leg. "It's gone." His eyes darted between everyone in the little clearing, his face warring between a broad grin and wide-eyed shock. "How? Last thing I remember, this weird looking guy jumped me and then..."

Denzel just stared at the ground. "It was like a nightmare but nothing happened."

Cait bounced forward to take Denzel's hand. "There, there, lad. 'Tis all over, now. Hows about we all jes' sit down an' relax a while. Mehbe find a place a bit outta the rain."

Eventually, everyone agreed, though Marlene continued to insist that it was good rain.

*7*7*

Zack crumpled to the ground holding his head.

Both Cloud and Kunsel jumped to help their friend. Only Kunsel reached him.

The moment Cloud turned his back, the imposter flew at him blade first.

Zack managed to pull his face away from the dirt just in time to see Cloud's head fall limp. Blood oozed from around the edges of the sword sticking out of his chest.

"No!" Zack pushed himself up only to fall flat on his face. "Damn it! Not again!"

Kunsel half-crouched by Zack's side, sword out as a shield.

The imposter cackled. "Pathetic! I don't get how such a weakling could ever defeat big brother."

" _I imagine there are many things you 'don't get.'_ "

The imposter shrieked and scurried away from his sword, which was now bubbling where Cloud's blood covered it. Soon, the parts in front and back fell to the ground with a wet thump.

Cloud raised his head. His eyes glowed solid blue.

Kunsel tried very hard not to move. "What...?"

" _Hmph._ " Cloud turned Ame no Murokumo in his hand before securing it to his back. " _One such as ye is not worth staining a divine relic._ "

The light rain continued to burn the imposter. "You're not him! What are you?! This is cheating!"

" _I am At-Rider, Spear Charger, Battle Wolf, Quarreler, Victory Giver._ " He finally turned to face the imposter. " _Ye are no more than a distraction._ "

"How _dare_ you!" The imposter lunged at him.

Cloud merely stepped out of the way, forcing Kunsel to pull Zack out of the imposter's path.

The imposter fell in a quivering heap, trailing dust and black smoke.

" _Remove the All-Mother's champion from this place._ "

Kunsel stood between Zack and Cloud while still eying the imposter. "I don't know who you are, but Cloud's a friend. I'm not leaving."

Cloud, or whatever was possessing him, snorted. " _Mortal sentiment. Both a weakness and a strength. Ye needn't fear for this vessel's sake, the remnant of the Calamity's will is nearly spent. The champion will, however, will suffer needlessly if he remains._ "

Kunsel almost repeated his refusal when Zack managed to grab his arm. "I don't... like it, either, but... he's... I think I know who that is."

"Right." Kunsel slung Zack's arm over his shoulders and dragged him away. As soon as they had a couple houses between them and what had been a small battle, Kunsel set him down against a wall. "Looks like we both have some explaining to do."

"Indeed." Vincent appeared next to them with no other sound besides the ripple of his tattered cape.

Both SOLDIERs jumped before they managed to over-ride their instincts.

Kunsel could've sworn he saw Vincent smirk for a second. "Uh, right. So we split up to investigate a sound, Zack started hallucinating, then I met up with Cloud and Vincent. Cloud said he had an idea for permanently killing Sephiroth but needed a summon. I happened to have most of them with me, and he somehow cast the summon so it pulled himself into its pocket space."

Zack rubbed his face and groaned. "Figures he'd pick that summon." He glanced up at Kunsel and Vincent for only a moment before dropping his head between his knees. "I, uh, I'm starting to think I may have picked up some of Cloud's memories at some point, because I recognized a couple of the names. Though I have no idea how getting possessed by Odin is going to help kill Sephiroth."

"Odin? You... Okay, hang on while I try to figure out which of those to freak out over."

Vincent turned his head slightly to his left. "Perhaps we should focus on why rain has such a devastating effect on the creature."

Zack shrugged. "Water makes him melt?"

Kunsel and Vincent stared at him in stunned silence.

"What? It makes about as much sense as anything else that happened today."

Neither could argue with that. Kunsel even chuckled. Suddenly, he grabbed his chest.

Zack sat up. "You okay?"

Kunsel nodded, his eyes wide. "Yeah. I... Hang on." He pulled his collar out so he could look down his shirt. "The stigma's... gone."

* * *

 _Okay, maybe not the best place to stop. I've (annoyingly) run out of buffer, so I don't even know if I'll have a chapter for next week. All the characters are just doing their own thing now and I have no idea what's going to happen next except for a few vague details that quite simply don't help right now. Well, at least there's a local cure for geostigma now. That's good._


	33. Revelations

**Chapter 33 - Revelations**

Cissnei glared up at the twisted wreck that had been ShinRa Headquarters. "This is a bad idea."

"Aw, come on. What's more secure than the last place most people wanna go?" Reno held what was left of the front door open and bowed for her to enter first.

"'Most.' Aside from scavengers or anyone who wants information."

Rude ducked under some partially collapsed pipes above the door. "No one who'd know where to look."

Cissnei followed them behind the express elevator. "Fine. Let's just get this over with."

None of the lights worked, but Reno somehow managed to get a hidden security key pad to unlock one of the passages Turks often used to get through the building unnoticed.

 _Used_ to use. Now, the only sounds were their own footsteps and the distant drip of leaky pipes.

"Guess you were right about this place being secure." Cissnei steadied herself against one of the few intact wall segments as she followed Reno over a pile of rubble. "I haven't seen anything larger than a cockroach since we came."

Reno grinned into the beam of his flashlight. "Sure is! Took us forever to find this place. It isn't even on any of the classified blueprints."

That got Cissnei's attention, in all the worst ways. "What was it used for?"

"A secret emergency bunker." Somehow, Rude managed to navigate the dark, ruined hallways while wearing his every-present sunglasses.

"Yeah," Reno snorted, "so secret the boss nearly died before we found him. Makes ya wonder what the old president was thinking."

This time Cissnei snorted. "What any of them were thinking. Or if they were thinking at all."

Without a good response, they let the ambient drips and moans of the ruined passageway take over. They soon reached what Cissnei hoped was their destination, a formerly sliding panel that would have been well hidden if it closed all the way.

Reno grinned back at Cissnei. "Rude got a little enthusiastic looking for the boss."

"You suggested explosives."

That almost got Cissnei laughing. She and Reno took positions facing back the way they came as Rude pushed through the narrow gap.

Cissnei shifted, trying to find a slightly drier place to stand. "That seal better not depend on anything that can rust."

"Don't worry. Nothing is getting..."

Thump.

A black box flew out of the gap followed by a clearly panicked Rude.

Reno fumbled with the box.

"What happened?" Cissnei held up her shuriken, waiting for Rude to stumble out of the way.

Rude shook his head. "Just go."

Before she could think to object, something dark shot at Reno, knocking him off his feet.

Sparks flew from his mag-rod, illuminating everything in a cascade of flashes.

All except the darkness convulsing around him.

Cissnei sliced through the darkness, hitting nothing but air.

Reno scrambled out from under it as Rude grabbed Cissnei.

"Dammit."

They started running. Cissnei glared at Reno's empty hands.

"You dropped it?"

"Hey, what was I supposed to do? Right now our mission is getting out of here alive."

It stung, but Cissnei grit her teeth and followed Reno and Rude back to the surface. A deep, hollow scream chased them the entire way.

Cissnei skidded to a stop on reaching the foyer. Reno pulled her away from the control panel. Rude simply hadn't stopped.

"What are you doing?"

Reno grinned, sending a shiver of dread down her spine. "Hey, Rude, think we're far enough away?"

"Maybe." He held up a small remote. "View's bad, though."

"Yeah, too bad. It's not going to get any better, so might as well."

Cissnei gripped her shuriken tighter. "You didn't."

Rude hit the button. Less than a second later, what was left of the building lurched. They jumped just clear of the downpour of shattered glass and steel. A second explosion threw them off their feet.

"I'd almost forgotten what it was like working with you two."

Reno and Rude chuckled. Reno splayed out on the ground. "Aw, I know you missed it. And this time it wasn't even our idea. Tseng came up with it."

Cissnei dusted herself off. "And I suppose I didn't need to know."

"Nope." Reno rolled to his feet. "Not even the boss, at least what I heard. Might suspect, though. Which could be a problem."

"He's been compromised."

For once, Reno looked almost as stoic as Rude. "Yeah. Better hope the Acient finds a cure for geostigma soon. Tseng's not going to like this."

*7*7*

Back in Gongaga, Zack shot to his feet. "Seriously?" He barely waited for Kunsel's nod before continuing. "That's awesome! How... Whoa! I'm not dizzy anymore, either!" He held out a hand and looked up at the light clouds sprinkling on them. His grin nearly split his face in two. "She did it. Aerith did it! YES!"

Kunsel looked up, too. "Your girlf... sorry, wife, has the best limit breaks."

" _It is but a reprieve._ "

They all jumped. Under any other circumstances, Zack and Kunsel would've smirked at someone managing to pull the stealth hello on Vincent. Instead, they focused on Cloud. Zack stepped forward.

"What are you doing in Cloud's body?"

" _Upholding my end of the bargain._ "

Zack crossed his arms. "What bargain?"

Odin turned Cloud's body to lean against the house. " _To cut out the disease at its source. Though the bargain is with the young wolf, it requires that ye make a choice._ " He closed his eyes. " _Speak to him, if ye so wish. For now, I must rest._ "

He slid down until he sat with his back propped against the wall. When he didn't move further, Zack gently shook his shoulder.

"He's asleep." Zack slid his hand down to the rip in Cloud's shirt. "Wow. The wound's almost completely closed."

"Which explains the nap. Guess we'll have to wait for answers. Again."

Zack stood, his mouth set in a grim line. "Yeah. I don't like how vague the answers we got were."

"I'm more concerned by what he did say." Kunsel frowned at their sleeping friend. "What's a summon going to do that the Ancients couldn't?"

Zack stretch his arms over his head. "Ahhh! No point wonder about that now. Oh!" He dropped his right fist into his left palm. "We've gotta make sure that thing's dead so everyone can come back. How do we sound the all clear?"

Kunsel's eyes widened for a moment. "Oh shit. We can't for the same reason we couldn't go with them. They were probably counting on Cloud to let them know." He turned to Vincent. "Can you..."

Before he could finish, Vincent swirled his cape and vanished.

Zack stared at the space where Vincent had been. "You know, sometimes I think Yuffie might have a point with that vampire stuff." He slung Cloud's arm over his shoulders. "Guess you can use my bed again. Just don't make a habit of it, okay?"

*7*7*

Bright sunshine and laughter warmed the air as Cloud opened his eye.

And shut them immediately on recognizing Zack's room. Maybe if he stayed still and quiet he wouldn't have to talk to anyone.

Unfortunately, his bladder had other plans.

So he rolled out of bed and opened the door just wide enough to check for his friends.

Nothing.

He crept all the way to the toilet without seeing anyone. He didn't hear anyone approach as he finished his business.

He nearly jumped straight out of his skin when he opened the door to Yuffie scowling at him.

"You've been messing with my materia."

"Uh, yeah."

She snatched a handful of his shirt and dragged him along, which only worked because he was too surprised not to follow.

His stomach dropped as he walked down the stairs. Everyone was waiting for him, even Vincent. He ducked his head, making a point not to look at Tifa.

"I got him, so make him give me back my materia."

Cid crossed his arms. "After he explains what the $#&% he was thinking."

Cloud glanced at the door. Zack was leaning against it and he'd have to walk past Tifa to get through the kitchen.

"Cloud?"

He winced at Tifa's voice.

"I'm sorry."

Barret stomped up to him. "Y're sorry? Yeah, sure, be sorry. Don't matter if we don't know what y're sorry for. Vincent ain't talkin' and all Zack or Kunsel could say is ya made some sorta deal that got ya possessed. So don't go sayin' sorry till y've told us what for."

"And where'd you hide my materia?"

Cloud backed up a step, pulling his shirt out of Yuffie's grip. "I didn't hide it." He pointed to his chest. "It's right here."

Kunsel held Yuffie back from attempting to disrobe Cloud. "Wait. Are you saying the materia is fused to your body?" At Cloud's nod, he released the now completely stunned Yuffie. "Well, that explains the possession if not what the hell you were thinking. Odin was pretty vague, but he said something about cutting out the disease and us having to make a choice. What did you _do_?"

"I... You might want to sit down."

It took far less time than Cloud would've liked for everyone to find a seat. Even Yuffie settled quietly.

He took a deep breath. "I asked Odin for the power to destroy Jenova for good. Every cell."

Kunsel and Zack leaned forward. Aerith wrapped her arms around her husband's arm.

Cid narrowed his eyes. "That include what's in you lot?"

Cloud nodded. "That's the choice. It's just... a bit personal."

Zack cut off any thoughts of protest. "Okay. Just make sure to tell us soon. But how's Odin going to destroy Jenova?"

"He won't. I will. I'm... going to become a Weapon."

 _Is anyone still reading this? *sigh* I was trying so hard to avoid the whole 'Cloud is/becomes a Weapon' cliche, but looking at what Cloud was asking for and how Odin would go about fulfilling it... Dang it, why do these characters keep doing this to me? This is part of the reason this chapter took so long._


	34. New Deal

**Chapter 34 - New Deal**

"WHAT?"

"Have ye gone daft?"

"No way!"

"One of those %$#& huge monsters we had ta fight?"

"How is that possible?"

"Are you _nuts_?"

Finally, Zack jumped up, set thumb and forefinger in his mouth, and whistled loud and shrill enough to make even Vincent wince.

The silence almost echoed.

"Great. Now." Zack turned to Cloud. "I get what you're trying to do, but this isn't just your fight."

Barret hit the arm of his chair with his gunarm hard enough to crack the wood. "Got that right! I've been fightin' for the planet for years! Sure, som'a the things I did weren't so great, but I was fightin' jes the same."

"Point is, we're not letting you do this alone."

Yuffie raised her hand. "Unless that involves also becoming a Weapon. Because I really don't want to do that."

" _I, too, would find such an outcome undesirable._ "

"Whoa." Yuffie's eyes widened until they were almost perfect circles. "A summon just spoke to me!"

Zack pinched the bridge of his nose. " _Any_ plan that involves _anyone_ becoming a Weapon is undesirable. So let's just remove that from the table entirely."

Odin crossed Cloud's arms. " _Do ye have an alternative strategy?_ "

"Um. No."

Kunsel quickly jumped in. "We can't come up with an alternative if we don't know why you came up with that plan in the first place."

Odin turned toward Kunsel for a moment. " _The life of a single child is not sufficient time for the task that is required._ "

"Is that all? We've got, uh..." Zack spun around to do a quick head count. "We've got eleven in this room."

Cait stood on Reeve's shoulders. "Ah-hem!"

"Twelve. So what do we need to do?"

" _Ye would raise an army to prevent a war._ "

Cid scoffed. "War's already here, pal."

" _ **Ye know nothing of war.**_ "

Dead silence reigned. Few dared to even breath before Zack set fists to hips and stared down Odin.

"So what if we don't? One thing I _do_ know is that Cloud's my friend. If you aren't willing to look at other possibilities then the deal is off. We'll fight Jenova without you."

" _That is not your decision to make_."

"Then step aside and let me talk to Cloud so he can make that decision. Either way, _no one_ is becoming a Weapon."

Odin narrowed Cloud's eyes up at Zack. " _I see now why All-Mother chose you. Very well. Let us hope ye are right that there truely is another way._ "

"I am." Zack glanced back at Aerith. "I have to be."

Kunsel raised a hand. "Now that we have that settled, is there any way of letting Cloud in on this discussion?"

Strangely, Odin sighed. " _It is possible, but this materia is not powerful enough on its own. A different location is required._ "

"What kind of location?"

" _One rich in lifestream yet free of the Calamity's taint. If fortune is with us, there should be such a location nearby._ "

Zack's entire face lit up. "The Gongaga reactor! We can do that."

Odin bowed Cloud's head. " _Then I shall greet you there_."

When Cloud raised his head again, his eyes were back to normal. He stared around the room before ducking away. "I... Thanks."

Zack clapped Cloud's shoulder. "No problem. Just make sure you talk to us before trying something like this again."

Cid stood up. "Or better yet, don't try something like this again. $&%^ kid, did ya think we'd just sit by and let ya do all the work?"

Soon, Cloud found himself at the center of moving mass of reassurance and concern. He almost bolted until he felt Tifa's hand slip into his. He looked up to her smiling at him.

"It's going to be okay, right?"

"Yeah." Cloud turned his face to the sky. "I think so."

*7*7*

Halfway to the reactor, Reeve's phone dinged. He fell back in the procession to check his voice mail. Hidden from everyone but Cait, his face darkened steadily as he listened.

"Ack. That doesnae look good."

"There was an explosion somewhere in Midgar." Reeve tucked his phone back in his pocket. "It could be nothing, but it seemed to come from the ShinRa Building."

"Only surprise there is it didna happen sooner."

"True, but it's still concerning. Not that we can do anything about it from here." Reeve scooped Cait onto his shoulders as he hurried to catch up.

*7*7*

Far above the ruins of Midgar, a thin ribbon of black smoke rose into the sky. Sinuous threads caught in the wind drifted over what remained of ShinRa's greatest symbol of power toward Edge.

*7*7*

Zack, Kunsel, and Cloud pushed aside a piece of machinery near where the entrance to the reactor should have been. They found a jagged maw leading into a cave of twisted metal.

After a quick look inside, Zack spun around to face everyone. "We're going to scout ahead. Make sure the core's accessible and see if we can get any of the lights to work."

"Sure, whatever." Cid flopped down in the shade of some old duct work. "Wake me up if anything interesting happens."

Zack lead the way into the ruins. Beyond the sunlit pool at the mouth, the only light came from a few dim smears of mako along the walls.

"Zack, Kunsel."

They turned to see Cloud a few feet behind them with his face tilted toward a corner near the floor.

"I... I'm grateful for what you did, but..."

"You wanted to protect us." Zack crossed his arms. "I get it. Thing is, sometimes trying to protect people just makes it worse." He stared over Cloud's head to the speck of light marking the entrance.

Kunsel turned to continue on. "Mostly because people generally prefer to know when they're being protected, and what from."

Before Cloud's head could fall lower, Zack grabbed his shoulder. "Hey, I've got to work on that, too. Come on."

* * *

 _Not the greatest stopping point for a chapter, but it's what I've got. Hopefully the characters will cooperate for a few more chapters. I have no idea how this is all going to end._


	35. Waiting

**Chapter 35 - Waiting**

Topside, Vincent watched the rest of the team keep themselves busy from a descrete distance. The only one he couldn't see was...

"Hey, Vinny!"

Yuffie.

She jumped down in front of him with her arms spread. "You were a Turk, right? And they're like Shin-Ra's version of ninja, only less cool."

Vincent just narrowed his eyes slightly.

"Well, remember that fight in Mideel with the Weapon? Zack did something really cool but I didn't get a chance to figure out what materia he used before everything went crazy again. So I've checked every materia I could get my hands on and none of them do anything even close to that. You know what I'm talking about, right? There were red circles and lightning and I think Zack was floating. Anyway, I figure he's holding out on me, but I need your help to find where he stashed the materia."

"No."

Yuffie gasped. "What? Why?!"

Vincent turned away with a swirl of his cape. "Everyone has things they'd prefer stay secret."

"What's that supposed to mean? Hey!" She ran after him for a few steps, at which point he jumped up the side of the reactor and disappeared.

"Yuffie, were you bothering Vincent again?"

"No." She spun around to face Aerith, putting on her best innocent pout. "I was just asking for a favor, that's all." A grin spread across her face. "Hey, you wouldn't happen to know where Zack hides the really cool materia, would you?"

Aerith sighed. "You've seen all the materia we have. No one is hiding any."

Yuffie peered at Aerith so close their noses almost touched. After a few uncomfortable seconds, she backed up. "Okay, so why... Oh, yeah, you weren't there to see how Zack made the Weapon in Mideel run off."

"No, I wasn't. Why would that make you think Zack's hiding materia?"

Yuffie threw her arms out. "Because there's no other explanation! I mean, the attack was really cool, but it was also kinda creepy with lots of glowing red, and Zack floating, and weird stuff like that, so it couldn't be a limit break. I've seen Zack fight a lot and his limit breaks run from awesome to goofy."

Aerith tapped her chin. "Hmm. You have a point. Have you tried asking him about it?"

Yuffie blinked several times, her face otherwise frozen as she tried to process the foreign idea.

Easily reading Yuffie's expression, or lack thereof, Aerith shook her head. "How about we both ask him, hm?"

"Yeah? Yeah!" Yuffie grinned as she laced her hands behind her head. "I was just going to suggest that! Hah! No way can Zack keep a secret from you."

Aerith just smiled.

*7*7*

"Phew!" Zack wiped his forehead with the back of his free hand as he swung the Buster sword back into place. "Think that's the last of them."

Cloud checked down the gaping hole they jumped across a few minutes earlier. "I hope so. Getting everyone down here will be hard enough without having to fight the whole way."

A few feet ahead, Kunsel pealed back a damaged section of wall. "Looks like there's a freight elevator back here. That'll make things easier if we can get it running."

Zack cracked his knuckles. "Oh, we'll get it running, alright."

*7*7*

Barret growled at the sun as if that would make it dim a little. Or at least hide behind a cloud. Cid had taken the one spot with any decent shade and threatened Barret with that glorified pig-sticker of his whenever the larger man tried to make him move.

So he sat by the entrance to the reactor and grumbled about how his stump itched.

Someone was banging around the wreckage, too, threatening to give him a headache. At first he thought it was Yuffie on her annoying quest for materia until he realized it was coming from inside the reactor.

He'd just managed to aim his gun arm where he thought the noise was coming from when a section of wall, or maybe former roof, exploded toward him. Later, he'd claim he'd dodged rather than fell out of the way. And he certainly didn't scream, he roared a battle-cry while emptying most of a clip at the possible threats.

One of which had chocobo-yellow hair.

Barret stopped firing so fast it hurt. "What the hell you doin'? I coulda killed ya!"

While Cloud remained silent, Kunsel turned his head toward the halo of ricocheted bullet holes around the new passageway. "I kinda doubt that."

Barret opened his mouth to fire back a retort when something a little more pressing caught his attention. "Hey, where's Zack? Ya didn' jes' leave him down there, didja?"

Betraying no emotion whatsoever, Cloud finally chose that time to speak. "He's holding the elevator for us."

Kunsel snorted.

Under most other circumstances, Barret would've demanded to know what was so funny. But the sun was still baking his metal parts, so he just grumbled as he left to find the rest of the team.

*7*7*

"So when ya said he was 'holdin' the elevator'..."

Cid broke down laughing. At the end of the twisting passageway, Zack Fair stood with a thick metal cable clenched in his hands. The other end looped up the shaft behind him and back down to the now-manual service elevator.

"We're going down in that?" Reeve looked like he might pass out.

Zack grinned. "Yep. Figured we'd take two shifts. I'd bring the first batch down then Cloud would take the last."

It took Aerith only a moment to pulled Yuffie into a conspiratorial huddle. "Make sure Tifa goes down with Cloud, and that she stands as close to him as possible." To illustrate her point, she stepped next to Zack, sliding both her arms around one of his.

He nearly dropped the elevator.

A cat-like grin flashed across Yuffie's face before settling on mock disgust. "Ugh! Ride the cage of doom down with the newlyweds? No thanks. Me and Tifa'll go with Cloud."

"We will?" Tifa blinked at the little ninja suddenly leaning against her like a post.

Yuffie scoffed. "Hey, if you think your built in airbags can save you from falling to your death, go ahead."

Zack scowled at her until a flash of red from the corner of his eye caught his attention. Turning, he saw Vincent standing at the very back of the elevator.

"At least someone has confidence in me. Come on, I've got three more spots if we're going to divide this evenly."

A couple awkward seconds passed before Cid stomped forward. "Bunch a' damn pussies. We gonna save Cloud from himself or not?"

Cloud rubbed the back of his neck as he tried to look anywhere except at his friends. A little jostling and debating later, Kunsel and Nanaki filled out the first load.

* * *

 _Okay, so it's not my best work. I wanted to get some light-hearted fun in before the big scene with Odin. Not sure I accomplished the 'fun' part, but maybe that's just my allergies talking._


	36. Change of Venue

**Chapter 36 - Change of Venue**

Everyone made the trip down safely and without incident despite Yuffie's morbid predictions. The rest of the walk was boring to the point of uneasy, a feeling accentuated by the sickly green glow that permeated everything around them.

After an interminable few minutes, they finally reached the remnants of a platform overlooking the reactor core. Despite laying in ruins for three long years, a luminous pool of concentrated Lifestream cast twisting, rippling shadows along the walls. Tifa stayed at Cloud's side as everyone shuffled along the most stable-looking areas.

Once they all settled on the platform, Cloud stepped toward the center. Red light flickered along his skin toward his chest. Tifa reached for him moments before the light exploded.

Stone and smoke replaced metal. The ground shook as a great throne rose before them. As the dust and ash cleared, Odin appeared, one hand resting on the arm of the throne, the other holding his spear.

" _Behold the realm of Odin. What little memory of it remains within this dying world_." Odin struck the ground with his spear and twelve chairs rose from the ground. Each bore carvings unlike its neighbor. Wolves snarled from the chair closest to Cloud while an armored maiden wreathed with wings did battle near Zack. " _Sit, that we may discuss our business in comfort._ "

Aerith curtsied while the others looked at the chairs. Nanaki sniffed the only one without a back before hopping up.

Cid squinted at one of the scenes carved into the chair closest to him, a battle between a multi-headed squid monster and an ambulatory castle. "So, first things first, I guess." He plopped into the chair with his spear leaning against his shoulder. "Ya were all ready to turn Cloud here into a Weapon, but as soon as Zack offered to split the job across the twelve of us, ya balked. Why?"

" _There is a difference between a single being in service to the planet and a dozen in service to a memory._ "

"So what? We're all on the same side."

" _It is in violation of the pact. Even if it were not so, the plan ye propose would only lead to your deaths._ "

Zack jumped to his feet. "Hey, we've fought Jenova before. We can fight it again."

" _Yet ye cannot win. No longer bound by physical form, the Calamity wanders the Lifestream, free to corrupt all it touches. There are but few ways to reach this battleground and ye would deny the one chosen by the young wolf._ "

"What?" Zack stumbled, looking from Odin to Aerith and all his friends. "There has to be a way."

Odin shook his head. " _The infection runs too deep. Even Giai's daughter would lose herself before the task was completed._ "

Barret slammed his gun-arm into the arm of his chair. "Ya sayin' it's hopeless? Then why the hell'd ya agree ta talk ta us?"

"To convince us that there's no other way." Vincent's cape swirled around him as he stood. "I will take Cloud's place."

The circle erupted in protest. Yuffie looked ready to dissolve into tears.

" _Enough!_ " Odin struck the ground with his spear, the impact echoing with his voice over the barren landscape. " _A noble gesture. I would accept if not for the beasts tied to your soul._ "

Vincent bowed wordlessly.

Once everyone returned to their seats, Aerith leaned forward. "Odin, you said that you hoped Zack was right about another way. Even if we can't fight it directly, is it at all possible to destroy the Calamity from outside the Lifestream?"

" _If such a method exists, I do not know it. Likely, the secret was lost along with your ancestors. Now only a being capable of traversing the Lifestream unharmed may confront the Calamity on equal terms._ "

"Like a..." Yuffie screamed. "No! It's not fair!"

Aerith and Tifa moved to comfort, or at least restrain, her. Cid just crossed his arms.

"Hey, none o' us *&$% like this, kid."

"Shut up! This isn't about Cloud anymore. This is about sacrificing Wutai's future for the future of the entire planet!"

"What the hell you talkin' 'bout?"

Kunsel's stare drifted from Yuffie to the ancient summon. "You mean..."

Yuffie lunged at him. "Don't say it! If I have to lose everything, I'm at least getting the credit for saving the world!"

Barret roared to his feet. "Git on wi' it!"

For a moment, Yuffie looked like she might explode again. Instead, she stretched her head up and planted her fists on her hips. "We send our summons into the Lifestream."

"That..." Aerith looked from Yuffie to Odin. "That could work, couldn't it?"

" _I am uncertain. Perhaps._ "

Zack raised his hand. "Not arguing or anything, but... the plan is what?"

"Summons are in materia and materia is concentrated Lifestream so, I dunno, they should be able to do stuff in the Lifestream that we can't." For a moment, Yuffie looked a little less sure of herself. "Right?"

Cid took a long drag on his cigarette. "Can't believe I'm sayin' this, but the kid's got a good idea for once."

"Hey! What do you mean, 'for once?!'"

Ignoring the growing spat between Yuffie and Cid, Reeve leaned forward with his fingers laced in front of is chin. "It certainly makes sense. So much so that I have to wonder why no one has tried it before."

" _There was no need._ " Odin's voice silenced all others. " _No enemy has rooted itself so deep into the Lifestream before._ "

Kunsel counted on his fingers. "We've got seven summons plus the master summon materia. If we're going to do this, we'll want as many as we can get our hands on."

Zack groaned as he flopped back in his chair. "The only place I know has summon materia is under the Sector 7 plate."

"I don't like the idea." Cloud paled slightly. "But we might have to, anyway, if that creature is still down there."

"The one Rick and Denzel said attacked them?" Tifa stepped forward. "Do you think it's connected to Jenova?"

"I know it is."

" _Destroy all trace of the Calamity! Not a single cell must remain if this plan is to have any hope of success._ "

Aerith edged toward Zack.

"Yeah, about that." Zack took Aerith's hand in his, rubbing his thumb along her knuckles. "There are Jenova cells in us. Is there a way to destroy them without us, well, dying?"

" _There was, if ye had allowed the young wolf's choice. But there may still be a way to perform the cleansing. Be warned. Ye will experience agony like no other until either the infection succumbs or ye._ "

Zack's grip on Aerith's hand tightened just enough to pull her closer.

* * *

 _A short chapter, but I hope it's worth it. This one had a few surprises for me. The things that happen when I let characters argue amongst themselves in my head. Honestly, I have no idea if summons in FFVII canon would have the level of autonomy for this plan to work, but we don't know if they wouldn't, either. Heck, I'm not entirely sure what summons are supposed to_ _ **be**_ _. We don't get any details like in FFVI or FFX. Or FFIV. OR FFVIII... Seriously, it's easier to count the games that don't give some backstory to the summons._


	37. Searching

**Chapter 37 - Searching**

Little else needed to be discussed within Odin's pocket realm. They returned to Gongaga to rest and decide their next move.

Kunsel and Nanaki headed out on foot the next day for Cosmo Canyon to research possible materia locations.

Reeve and Cait Sith set up a meeting with the Turks in Costa del Sol to negotiate for information on possible surviving members of SOLDIER and ShinRa materia stashes.

Cid returned to the oil fields with Shera.

Vincent simply disappeared, though not before certain people badgered him into getting a phone.

Yuffie wandered off to look for materia that wasn't guarded by diseased Jenova spawn.

Barret took a job with Cid on the condition that Cloud, Zack, Tifa, and Aerith would look after Marlene.

Everyone else headed back to Midgar with the children. Cloud and Tifa in particular wanted to help build Edge.

Zack tried to keep his idea for a house away from Aerith, but eventually caved when he realized he hadn't a clue where the start. She laughed.

Aerith suspected the cure she found wouldn't hold for long while Sephiroth's consciousness remained. If nothing else, those who were cured would probably be at risk of reinfection.

The people of Gongaga cleared a path to the spring Aerith had prayed at. Bottles of healing water spread by foot, cart, and chocobo-back.

Weeks turned to months. The spring's power lasted until the first storm of the rainy season. People still came and Aerith built a new spring in her church. Zack and Cloud started making deliveries of water and spread word of the new location of the cure.

The Turks proved suspiciously helpful, at least where information on SOLDIER locations was concerned. Most turned out to be dead or had left for parts unknown as soon as they realized ShinRa couldn't track them anymore.

Annoying, especially since they could all sympathize.

"Maybe we should just put out an ad." Kunsel leaned his head back against one of the sturdier pews in Aerith's church. He and Nanaki had stopped by after failing to find another SOLDIER near Icicle Inn.

Zack chuckled. "Yeah. 'Cure for alien parasite you didn't know you had available. Results may be fatal.' That'll bring them in."

Kunsel glared at him. "You have a better idea?"

"Hey." Zack brought his hands up as a shield. "It's not a bad idea, I'm just saying... I dunno, they're hiding from ShinRa and we're... this cleansing thing kinda sounds like an experiment."

"Oh."

Zack rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeah. Cloud and I were talking about maybe going through whatever this cleansing is ourselves before we try to convince anyone else."

Kunsel shivered. "Yeah. That's an option." He took a deep breath as he rubbed his face. "I really don't want to do this."

"No kidding." Zack sat down next to him. "But it's..."

Crash! Zack and Kunsel jumped up ready for a monster attack.

Amy threw herself at Zack. "Denzel pushed me!"

"You were in the way!" Denzel rushed in after her carrying a toy sword.

"YOU PUSHED ME! IT HURT!"

"Woah!" Zack knelt down between the squabbling children. He noted that a small crowd had gathered just inside the door to the church. "I can't do anything about anything if you two are screaming at each other. So, Amy, you said Denzel pushed you? Fine. Denzel, why did you push Amy?"

Denzel did his best to look menacing at Amy before dropping into a pout. "We were playing, me and some of the other kids. I was Cloud. Ran was on the ShinRa team and I saw him run toward Amy."

"I didn't know she was there!"

Zack snapped his head up toward the crowd. "Hey! Don't interrupt!"

"I thought Ran was gonna take her hostage! So I protected her!"

"You hurt me! And I wasn't playing your stupid game!"

"I didn't mean to!"

Zack pinched the bridge of his nose. "Oh man." He lightly gripped Denzel's shoulder. "Look, I'm not going to say you did anything wrong. You meant well. Just, uh, attacking someone you're trying to protect is usually a bad idea."

"But I didn't attack..."

Amy stomped her foot. "Did so!"

"Did not!"

"Uh, you kinda did."

"SEE?"

Denzel pouted fiercely at Zack.

Zack sighed. "You were playing a game and you pushed her, so yeah, it counts as an attack. So be more careful next time." Zack raised his voice so the kids in the back could hear. "And don't involve people who aren't playing!"

"I said I didn't see her!"

"Anyway!" Zack pinched his nose again. "Just try to get along, okay?"

Kunsel watched the kids run off, another game already in the making. "You better survive this."

Zack brushed off his pants as he stood. "Well, it's not like I'm planning to die."

"I mean it. Those kids, Aerith, everyone depends on you. So you better come back alive."

"Uh, sure." Zack rubbed the back of his neck. "Anyway, Cloud should be back in a couple days."

"Yeah? Where is he?"

Zack grinned.

*7*7*

Water dripped from the walls of the ice cavern. Deep shadows wavered and split before the huge mass of a gigas.

Cloud stood firm as its heavy booted feet shook the ground.

The gigas raised a single hand to squash the intruder.

A blur of movement ended with Cloud returning his sword to its sheath. Behind him, the gigas toppled to the floor with an echoing boom.

"That was awesome!" Yuffie dropped from the ceiling. "You're really going all out breaking in your new sword."

Cloud adjusted a strap on the oddly complicated harness that included the sword's sheath. "I thought you said you were in trouble."

Yuffie waved a hand in dismissal. "Oh that. I just needed you get here quickly. It always worked with Zack."

"Hm. I guess I owe him, then."

Yuffie didn't notice, or perhaps didn't care enough to ask. She simply dashed down the shadowed passageway until Cloud yanked her back.

"Hey! What's the big..."

The cave rumbled up through the soles of their shoes moments before ice and rock crashed down into a wall of rubble blocking their path.

"Oh. Uh, thanks."

"What were you looking for?"

"Materia, duh." Yuffie skipped along the edge of the cave in, examining every crack. "There's supposed to be a summon on the inside slope of the crater. AAHHH!" She kicked uselessly against one of the larger rocks. "It's _so close_! Finding a way around will take _forever_!"

Cloud stepped next to her so he could get a closer look at the barrier. He pulled her back by the shoulder.

"Stand back a minute."

"Huh?" Yuffie watched perplexed as Cloud climbed halfway up the rough wall.

He jumped down a moment later. "Maybe you should stand a little further away."

Yuffie shuffled a couple feet away. "What're you doing?"

"I'm not quite sure." Cloud grabbed one of the larger boulders and braced his feet.

"Whoa! Whoa! Hang on!" Yuffie sprinted back the way they came. She slid to a halt several yards away. "Okay! Go ahead!"

Cloud only nodded before readjusting his stance. His fingers dug into the rock as his muscles tensed. Stone scraped against stone. Dust and pebbles trickled down the wall. Then larger pieces broke free. The wall groaned.

"Hey! Watch-"

The groan rose to a rumbling roar as tons of rock and ice crashed onto Cloud.

"Cloud!" Yuffie didn't bother waiting for the debris to stop moving before rushing forward.

The pile still shifted as she clawed at the rubble. She barely paid attention until Cloud's hand punched a rock out of the way inches from her face.

The moment Cloud's head broke the surface, Yuffie punched him straight down.

"YOU JERK! What am I supposed to say to Tifa if you get yourself killed, huh?"

"I... Are you crying?"

She hugged her fist close to her chest. "I hurt my hand punching your thick skull!"

Cloud slotted a materia into bracer and held it out toward Yuffie. A faint glow grew and dimmed around her hand, taking the pain with it.

"Idiot." She pushed past him as she scrambled up the rubble. "At least you made a hole we can crawl through. When I find the summon materia I'll give you... some of the credit. Like, a third."

Not seeing any point in arguing, Cloud just followed her while keeping an eye and ear out for any more surprises.

* * *

 _Sorry for the wait. Summer colds, loud roofers, even louder toddlers... It's been an interesting summer. Hopefully this chapter doesn't disappoint. I'm hoping next chapter will be better. It'll probably be darker, anything. Or just trippier._


	38. Purge

**Chapter 38 - Cleansing**

Soon after Cloud and Yuffie's return, those currently in Midgar gathered at Elmyra's house to discuss their next move.

Aerith laid a rumpled notebook in the middle of the dining room table. "I talked to Odin and a few of the other summons. This is at least part of what we'll need."

Kunsel flipped through several pages. "Hang on. This big, potentially deadly cure involves herbal tea and a sauna?"

Aerith more coughed than laughed. "When you put it that way... it does sound silly. But it worries me. I think most of those herbs are poisonous."

"Oh. Of course they are."

"Even if they aren't, they're probably gross." Yuffie craned her neck over Kunsel's shoulder and stuck out her tongue. "What's a corn-cockle? Sounds like a dirty joke."

Tifa shook her head. "There are so many details. Even down to what kind of wood to use for the fire. Though that one makes sense, I suppose. Weren't there stories about yew being connected with Odin?" She glanced at Cloud.

"I don't remember."

Before the resulting silence could grow too awkward, Zack picked up the notebook. "It'll take a while to collect everything, mostly just from figuring out where, but that should be the hardest part. Well, aside from, you know." He cleared his throat. "So, any ideas?"

"Cosmo Canyon is probably our best bet." Kunsel pulled out his phone. "Even if they don't have the materials, they should know where to get them."

The discussion trailed off after that. Aerith pulled Yuffie aside to plan a 'treasure hunt' for some of the stranger items. Tifa wandered outside, Cloud trailing after her.

She stopped in a corner on the second level of Aerith's garden. Her hair and the flowers around her swayed in the light breeze. Cloud waited behind her at the top of the wooden steps.

"I'm scared, Cloud." She turned just enough to look back at him. "I know this is necessary, I know it's the best option we have, but... It's selfish. I wish you could just stay here. With me."

"Yeah." Cloud stepped closer, his eyes on the flowers. "I wish... I wish I could say 'we'll be fine' or 'it'll turn out all right.' I don't know what'll happen. But I do know that, if I make it through this, I want to be with you."

Tifa slid her hand into his. "I'll be here."

*7*7*

The sun burned red behind the canyon walls. Deep shadows engulfed the village except for the flickering orange and yellow of torches and the Cosmo Candle. Young men with drums of stretched skin and hollow logs kept a solemn beat as the elders directed the construction of a ring of stacked stone.

Young tree trunks were bent over the stone walls to form the ribs of a roof. The village women donated what furs and blankets could be spared. They passed each through the sacred fire. Once. Twice. Purifying them before laying them across the wooden ribs.

They set a wood stove in the center of the newly formed lodge and stoked the fire with yew wood. Then they covered the stove with clean river stones.

When the lodge filled entirely with smoke, they pulled back the fur covering the doorway. Soon, with the smoke cleared and the fire reduced to embers, the elders called for Zack and Cloud.

Both men hesitated to emerge from the changing tent covered only in a towel and a thick layer of medicinal oil. In step to the drums, they marched to their fate.

Once inside, attendants beat their backs with a massaging birch broom. The attendants poured more water on the stones. They left just long enough to bring two bowls of brown sludge.

Zack and Cloud gulped it down before the smell and taste could overwhelm them. The medicine burned across their tongues and scraped against their throats.

No light. Only heat and the hollow thump of drums. Breathing grew more difficult as the steam thickened.

The toxic brew in their stomachs churned. Their heads throbbed to the beat.

Cloud felt the rest of the world crumble away to the single spire of rock on which he sat, spinning and tipping around in the void.

Zack couldn't straighten his legs. Razor sharp bands seemed to dig into his muscles. Needles stabbed his joints.

Both struggled to hold in the contents of their stomachs. Concepts like up and down started to lose their meaning.

They were drowning. Sinking into an ocean knives and sandpaper. Worms as dark as the void that swallowed them oozed from their pores and slithered across their skin.

The darkness undulated around them. Swirling shadows of color appeared and disappeared in the void. Their bowels clenched until they thought their abdomens would implode. Acid ran down their legs.

Cloud curled in on himself. He clawed at his burning skin and stinging hair. Memories of a time tinged green blurred with the present darkness until he couldn't tell which was which.

Zack just tried to breath and will his heart down from its frantic pounding against his sternum. Every sound, every phantom shape, set his nerves on fire.

They were melting. Cloud could feel his body sinking into the stone floor. Zack thought he saw his skin sluff off along with his sweat.

Sand filled their mouths. Water flooded their lungs and drained from every other part of their bodies.

Zack heard a moan from somewhere. He couldn't tell direction or distance.

They were going to die here. Dissected and put in jars.

"Nnooo..." He had a promise to keep. He had to see her again.

Cloud grasped at every thought that slipped passed him like water. Some hint to where he was, why he was here. It felt like something he'd already escaped from. Or had that been a dream?

Too hot. Too cold. No sense of time or place. Endlessly drifting as his mind fell away piece by piece.

Again.

Still.

Failing. Dying. Over and over until he couldn't tell one event from another. Blood-soaked hands clutching fragments of a life he never lived.

 _"I'll be here."_

There were people waiting for him. Someone in particular. Someone he didn't want to hurt ever again.

Someone he wanted to see smile.

Floating. Rising and sinking in a sea of green.

" _... over here..._ "

" _... running low on..._ "

" _... towels..._ "

" _... hope they're..._ "

" _... temperature..._ "

" _..._ _Cloud..._ "

*7*7*

Tifa laid a fresh damp cloth across Cloud's forehead. When he and Zack were dragged from the sauna, motionless and covered in their own filth, she'd feared the worst. Even after cleaning them and making sure they were breathing she couldn't help but worry.

Now, she sat tending him in the flickering lamp-light of the Shildra Inn. His skin felt too dry and looked far too pale. His pulse fluttered against Tifa's finger tips as she held his wrist.

On the next bed over, Zack lay in a similar state. Aerith brushed his hair with gentle fingers.

"Please come back, Cloud."

Aerith turned to smile at Tifa. "He will. They both with."

"I hope so." Tifa twisted a corner of the sheets between her fingers. "It just seems like I'm always waiting for him."

"When he comes back, maybe you should go to him." Aerith checked the cold packs under Zack's armpits and tisked. "We're going to need more ice. I wish the ice from blizzard materia didn't disappear so quickly, it would make this so much easier."

Tifa opened and closed her mouth, unsure if she should offer to fetch it.

What if Cloud woke up while she was gone?

What if Aerith wanted to escape the oppressive atmosphere as much as she did?

Further 'what ifs' were interrupted by Aerith's understanding smile. "Could you get more bags? When you're back, I'll head down and ask about supper."

"Oh. Right. Of course."

Tifa stretched as she stood up, joints popping the entire time. She'd definitely been sitting far too long. With a final glance at Cloud, she walked out the door.

*7*7*

Down in the tavern, Kunsel saw Tifa just as he stood from one of the rough wooden tables.

"Hey! Any news?"

Tifa shook her head. "I was just getting more ice."

Suddenly, Kunsel blocked her path. "I'll do it. You and Aerith need a break, anyway."

"I am..."

"A real break. Neither of you have slept since we got here."

"We..."

"You're worried. So am I. Why do you think I'm offering to sit watch for a while?"

Tifa bowed her head. "I suppose..."

Kunsel turned toward the kitchen. "I'll let you know right away if anything changes."

* * *

 _Used a mix of info on Lakota sweat lodges and Scandinavian saunas along with a variety of traditional herbal remedies for things like cancer and possession. Most of those herbs are definitely poisonous, by the way. A few are hallucinogenic. I don't have much experience with saunas or poisoning, but I do have first-hand experience with a lot of the symptoms. My medical history is_ _ **fun**_ _._


	39. Awakening

**Chapter 39 - Awakening**

"So Reeve has Vincent of all people looking into it. There's not enough fuel in the Highwind for another trip, but Cid talked some friends into giving the kids a lift by boat and Reeve said he'd have someone with a bus take them to Junon and then to Gongaga. They should be okay."

Kunsel leaned the chair back until his head bumped against the wall behind him. Both Zack and Cloud lay motionless in the beds on either side. "I really hope it's a coincident that this is happening now while you two are out of it."

He closed his eyes and let the sound of his friends breathing and the smell of fresh sheets and dry earth relax him before dropping the last bit of news.

"No one's been able to contact Nibelheim for a couple days. It could be nothing. Most of the actors and scientists left after ShinRa fell and of course there was geostigma. I just get the feeling Reeve isn't telling me something."

He rubbed his forehead against the headache building behind his eyes. He'd hoped talking to his friends, even if they couldn't talk back, would help. It had helped Zack all those months on the run.

Yet he still felt restless. Thoughts of what was happening in Midgar kept invading his mind.

Along with an unsettling feeling as to why.

*7*7*

Aerith buried her face in the freshly laundered sheets and blankets. The innkeeper had been more than happy to give her and Tifa a room identical to the one their boys lay comatose in. Identical except for the wonderful lack of ice and sick-smell.

Exhaustion-fueled giddiness kept any feelings of guilt at bay for the moment.

Barely three feet away, Tifa twitched and shuffled under her sheets.

"Did we do the right thing?"

Aerith rolled over to face Tifa's back. "Hmm?"

"What Cloud originally planned to do, turning into a Weapon... was it selfish of us to stop him? He'd still be alive. Now he and Zack could die."

"Hmm." Aerith settled onto her back. "Maybe it was. But that doesn't mean it was wrong. Either way, Zack and every other SOLDIER would still have Jenova cells. Even Cloud. What then? Maybe Odin would've had Cloud go through this before becoming a Weapon. But he'd be alone. No one should be alone."

Tifa curled up tighter, wrapping herself in a cocoon of fabric.

*7*7*

Reeve shuffled through the reports and data disks burying the table he'd been using as a desk and most of the surrounding floor in the spare room turned office. The building of Edge had been going so smoothly after Aerith brought the cure to Midgar. He should have known it was too good to last.

It started with reports of strange noises from the salvage teams. Hollow screams and wails as if filtered through vast expanses of water.

He would have dismissed it as stress and imagination if Zack and the others living near the church didn't hear it, too. They had even gone looking for the source. A task that proved futile given how sporadic the noises occurred and their indistinct nature.

Most decided to call it the wind weaving through the ruins and move on.

Until some of the workers claimed to see things in the long shadows of dusk and the murky tunnels of Midgar's slums.

Still, Reeve listened to the foremen when they said the men were simply overworked and insisted that they take some time off.

That was a week ago. The day before Zack and Cloud left for Cosmo Canyon, two men assigned to fixing the Sector 3 water plant disappeared. A team of seven went looking for them the next day. Only three returned.

Reeve couldn't allow himself the luxury of assuming the timing was a coincidence. So he made some calls and gathered all the physical documents he could get his hands on.

Speaking of... His phone vibrated from under one of the many stacks of papers.

"Reeve Tuesti speaking."

" _You owe me! Ugh. Elmyra and the kids are on the boat. Don't expect me back for a couple days, I'm_ _ **walking**_."

"That's... Actually, Yuffie, if you aren't feeling well, maybe you could stay in Junon for a few days."

"... _What's the catch?_ "

Reeve chuckled. "I think you'll like this one. The ShinRa offices in Junon may contain information relevant to our current investigation."

" _Seriously?_ " She didn't give him time to reply before jumping into ecstatic whoops and cheers. " _I'll get you every dirty little secret ShinRa's hiding here or my name isn't Yuffie Kisaragi!_ "

"I'm counting on you." His smile fell as he hung up and let his gaze fall to the sea of decryption he still had to do.

Maybe if he called the Turks. No. Far too early to trust them when he didn't know what was going on.

*7*7*

A void of stars. A place without pain. Without sound.

Peaceful. Serene.

Just when Zack felt he couldn't take it any longer, a woman in glowing white and gold shimmered out of the darkness, a spear in her hand and a wheel of wings on her back.

The goddess he fought in the caves while he and Cloud were on the run.

For moment she just floated there, studying him. Then, with a nod, she touched the point of her spear to his chest right above his heart.

 _For the battles ahead._

And he fell, pulled through the void. Stars shot past him until they were nothing more than streaks of light radiating from a single point that grew into a blinding maw to swallow him whole.

Blinding white faded to flickering orange. The scent of dry earth and old wood filled his nose. He could feel lumps of cold and damp wedged under his arms and between his legs. The wet seeped into a layer of cloth over him, clinging to his skin.

He blinked several times as the dusty brown ceiling came into focus.

"Hey." Kunsel's head slid into view. "How're you feeling?"

Zack opened his mouth, only to find his tongue and throat too dry to make more than a raspy cough.

"Yeah, that makes sense." Kunsel disappeared. "Hang on."

The room tipped and a wave of nausea swept over Zack as Kunsel lifted him into a seated position.

"You've been out for a little over a day, so between that and the hell sauna, you're badly dehydrated." Kunsel walked around the bed to a small table with a hot plate holding a small pot. "Aerith's supposed to be asleep, but I'm guessing you'd rather have her feed you than me."

Zack managed a weak nod. Kunsel grinned back at him.

"So I'm just going to set this bowl out to cool before getting her."

As soon as Kunsel left, Zack tried to push himself up. Bad idea. Everything hurt. His head spun. His joints screamed. His skin felt ready to crack into a thousand bleeding pieces.

Slight movement to his right gave Zack a welcome distraction.

Cloud coughed just as Aerith opened the door.

"Oh! Cloud's awake, too!" She stepped in and to the side so Tifa could enter. "Guess you were right."

Tifa crept to Cloud's side while Aerith poured another bowl of broth. For several minutes no one spoke except Aerith, who happily chatted about a book she'd found on wild plants.

Thin broth never tasted so delicious. Every watery drop soothed their parched throats and soaked into their aching muscles.

"It's gone."

Every stopped to look at Cloud. He didn't seem to notice them, or anything else, as he stared at a point beyond the ceiling.

Tifa set the half-finished bowl of broth down so she could take Cloud's hands. "Cloud?"

"The darkness. It's gone." His voice rasped against his throat. "No, that's not it. It's like a weight's been lifted."

Zack let his head drop back against the wall. "Yeah." He coughed before trying again. "I still feel awful, but good, too. Clean."

Aerith giggled into her hand. "I should hope so. We had to give you both a thorough bath."

"'We?'" Cloud's voice squeaked as color returned violently to his face.

Tifa shook her head and hands until her hair flew. "N-no! No! That's not...!"

Zack laughed until he coughed. Aerith rubbed his back while trying to stifle her own giggles.

"Oh, don't worry, Cloud. Tifa and I did the preparations. The medical students took care of the actual bathing."

"Can't... breath..." Zack gasped for air until he regained control of his lungs. "Oh man. Kinda disappointed I didn't get a bath from my wife, though."

"It's not like you were awake to enjoy it."

Tifa and Cloud tried their hardest to will the floor into swallowing them whole.

A sharp knock on the door interrupted any further banter. Before Zack could ask who was there, Kunsel burst into the room.

"We've got trouble in Nibelheim."

* * *

 _Merry Christmas to those bothering to read this. It's been a while since I've updated. November was rough for a variety of reasons and it's rather hard to find motivation to write when so few people post reviews. Anyway, things are moving along. Those who've played Dirge of Cerberus may have some inkling as to what. As for why the timeline's been accelerated so much... bwahahahaha..._


	40. Moratorium

**Chapter 40 - Moratorium**

"The investigation was going nowhere in Midgar, so Reeve sent Vincent to Nibelheim to investigate the communications blackout. He was supposed to check in every six hours. He missed his last check in three hours ago."

"So what are we waiting for?" Zack flung off the bed-sheets.

And instantly flung them back on. "Uh, after I find some pants."

Aerith and Tifa both buried their faces, Aerith to hide her laughter and Tifa to hide her burning cheeks. Cloud glared pure death at his best friend. Zack, meanwhile, tucked himself into a loose ball and scratched the back of his neck.

Kunsel shook his head. "You aren't going, I am."

"What? Oh come..." Coughs exploded from Zack's throat.

"And that's why."

Before Zack could find his voice again, Cloud spoke up. "If something took out Vincent, you'll need backup."

Kunsel grinned. "Yuffie and Barret are already on their way. I just have to do a little scouting from a safe distance until then. Or, hey, I might pull a Zack and rescue him all by myself." He waved as he turned back through the doorway.

*7*7*

"But using your own child for an experiment?"

"Are you... Are you sure this is what you really want?"

Pain. So much pain. His chest. His heart. His soul.

Cold metal. Cooling blood. He should have died. He should have slept forever within the Lifestream.

The muttering voice hovering over him wouldn't allow that.

"I can... body... next experiment... a genius... I am... success here... justify... failures."

His failure. His sin. His punishment.

" _I'm so sorry_."

*7*7*

Daylight faded behind the twisted peaks of the Nibel range. A single tree clung to the crest of a hill below Nibelheim. In its branches, Kunsel watched the town gate.

Nothing had moved for the last several hours. No people, no animals, even the dust refused to budge as the cold night air flowed down from the mountains. Only the shadows stretching their inky fingers across the dying landscape.

"Greetings."

Kunsel nearly fell from his perch before reason overcame frantic instinct. "Nanaki? What are you doing here?"

"Saying hello."

"No, I mean... Never mind." Kunsel slid down the tree. "Have you seen Vincent?"

Nanaki shook his head slowly. "But I did smell him yesterday. I would have greeted him, but I dared not enter the town. By the time I reached the area his scent came from, he was gone."

"Can you show me?"

Nanaki bowed his head before turning west. The path they took twisted between jagged rock spires until they reached a narrow ledge far above the motionless town.

Kunsel paused for a moment while finding the most stable rocks. "Do you know what happened here?"

"No. It was like this when I arrived."

Though somewhat unnerved, Kunsel continued to follow Nanaki as the trail grew steeper and more treacherous until they reached a ragged plateau shrouded in mako vapor.

Kunsel squinted at the cliffs above. "We're close to the reactor."

"That is significant?"

"Maybe. I don't see any natural source for all this vapor, so..." Kunsel clambered over a waist-high ridge of boulders. "I knew it! There's a vent over here."

Nanaki followed to examine the rusted pipe, just large enough to fit a normal man, that stuck barely a foot out of the grey rock. A heavy iron grate covered the exposed end. Kunsel ran a hand along the edge.

"Welded shut. Vincent definitely didn't get in this way."

Nanaki chuffed. "I think I'd rather not know what would compel him to enter such a place."

"Same here, but I kinda have to." Kunsel turned about, futilely surveying what little he could see through the fog and gloom. "Damn it. I'm suppose to wait for backup, but even if Barret could get up here without getting stuck, there's no way he's fitting through this pipe."

"Surely he is not the only one coming."

"No, Yuffie's with him."

Nanaki winced.

"I know, I know." Kunsel started pacing. "This is Vincent. We didn't really think he'd be in danger. He's new to the whole cell-phone thing, maybe he just forgot to charge it or something. But it's been almost a whole day and with Nibelheim looking like... that... I don't think I can wait for backup, but heading in alone is what got Vincent in this mess."

"I am here, as well."

Kunsel shook his head. "I need you to guide everyone up here." He pulled out his phone. "I'm just going to give Barret a heads up. Maybe they can pick up some more help along the way."

Nanaki wandered a little ways off in anticipation of the noise Barret would make. Even so, he had to flatten his sensitive ears against his head at several points in the conversation.

Thankfully, the call didn't last long. Kunsel came away rubbing his ear.

"I'm guessing you heard most of that."

"I heard all of that, so I will not delay further except to say that I do not entirely disagree with him."

Kunsel sighed. "Yeah, same here. We better get going, then."

They turned in opposite directions, Nanaki back down the way they came, Kunsel toward the pipe. A moment later, the brief shriek of rending metal signaled that Kunsel had made his way inside.

Kunsel found himself in a maze of decaying brick tunnels and rusting pipes streaked in a sickly green glow. The sharpened sticks sahagins used as spears littered the shallow water. He followed the scant hints of battle accompanied only by the echoing slosh of his own footsteps.

Eventually, after much backtracking and jumping at at shadows, he found a ladder leading up to a storeroom with an old cage elevator in the center. Here the trail switched to spent shell-casings and discarded firearms.

There still weren't any bodies. Pools and smears of blood to indicate where they had been, yes, but the bodies had long since dissolved into pyreflies.

The shared fate of monsters and SOLDIER.

Kunsel shook off the morbid thoughts before entering the elevator.

* * *

 _Finally! So sorry this took so long, and that it's such a short chapter. Life hasn't exactly been busy, but it has left me with little motivation for writing and even fewer ideas. Mostly just tired and moody. Let me know what you think of having Kunsel as a focus character here._


	41. Dead Zone

**Chapter 41 - Dead Zone**

The elevators in that place were old, slow, and shuddered disturbingly whenever they started or stopped. To Kunsel, they felt more like death traps than the signs of ambushes he found along the way.

It didn't help any that they were the only things that moved or made noise in the entire complex.

Then he entered the labs. Stone and timber halls covered with dust and lined with hastily packed crates. Rooms stripped bare except for a few lingering horrors.

Tables with saw-blades held on jointed arms. Glowing tubes of mako connected to machines he didn't want to imagine the purpose of. Beds.

The kind of beds he remembered from boot camp. The kind he woke up on after becoming SOLDIER.

And, of course, the trail of disturbed dust and bullet holes lead through every single one of those eerie rooms. Kunsel almost felt relief when he found a door leading to the rough tunnel directly below the manor and the lab where Zack and Cloud had been experimented on. At least then he knew where he was.

The trail changed again as he neared the manor proper. He still found abandoned firearms, but there were swords among them, too.

Standard SOLDIER issue swords.

He didn't have much time to consider the significance. As soon as he stepped out onto the long balcony over the central hall, he saw a scattered heap of what had probably been some sort of spider tank before it picked a fight with a shredder. Halfway between it and the main doors lay a pool of fluttering crimson.

"Vincent!" Kunsel didn't bother with the stairs, instead vaulting over the banister and most of the hall. In seconds he knelt by his comrade's side.

Normally, the huge smears of dried blood would be a bad sign. It still wasn't good, but with Vincent's body still solid, Kunsel had to assume he was alive if just barely.

Kunsel bent closer and listened. A breath. And another. Faint and slightly rasping, but a clear sign of life. Letting out a long breath of his own, Kunsel braced himself for his next task.

"Okay, Vincent, I have to check for wounds, so I'd appreciate it if you didn't try to kill me in your sleep."

Carefully, as much for his own safety as Vincent's, Kunsel peeled up Vincent's cloak. Not finding any obvious wounds on that side, he rolled the former Turk onto his back.

Aside from the sickening crack and suck of dry blood adhered to leather and wood, the first thing Kunsel noticed was the hole ripped through Vincent's shirt. Next, the distinct lack of a corresponding hole in Vincent's chest.

Kunsel sat back on his heels. With no other obvious sign of injury, he allowed himself to study his surroundings.

Some of the debris from the spider tank partially covered a machine gun to his left. Relatively recent scorch marks on the walls and ceiling also hinted at how the battle went down. Much more telling, however, were the blood smears leading away from Vincent. Someone, or something, had escaped without making sure Vincent was dead. For which Kunsel was thankful, but also puzzled.

Kunsel stepped around Vincent to the blood-stained front door. The handle wouldn't budge.

He almost applied more pressure when every hair on his body stood on end.

No sound.

No scent.

No movement.

Just the growing pressure of instinct.

Something was out there.

He ducked under Vincent's arm, barely breaking stride as he fled up the stairs.

Something was out there.

He only paused at the secret door to make sure it closed behind him.

It could see him.

He didn't bother with the stairs, ricocheting off the walls above each loop until he reached the tunnel floor.

It was coming.

He didn't stop, didn't pause to get his bearings or wait for elevators. No conscious thought went into navigating the tunnels and sewers below Mt. Nibel.

Finally, below the open vent, he skidded to a halt. An easy jump if he weren't carrying someone.

"This'd be a lot easier if you were awake." He tossed Vincent up and out, jumping less than a second later to catch his still unconscious teammate.

A startled yelp had him trying to juggle Vincent and his sword.

Nanaki stared back at him, his one good eye huge and ears flattened.

"Sorry." Kunsel laid Vincent down and sheathed his sword.

Nanaki shook himself. "No need. Are you being pursued?"

Kunsel pushed several boulders before rolling one over the vent. "I don't know. And I _really_ don't want to find out."

"Then we are leaving immediately, then? I suspect neither Barret nor Yuffie will be pleased to hear their services were unnecessary."

"Not entirely." Kunsel hoisted Vincent up, supporting the taller man under one shoulder. "They're coming by truck and I am not walking all the way to Cosmo Canyon like this."

*7*7*

Hard, bouncing metal and bones that ached as if they had been almost broken finally pulled Vincent to the musty edge of consciousness.

For a moment he couldn't remember what happened. A woman in strange armor veined with mako, a fight, and then... Pain.

He groaned at the reminder.

"Welcome back."

Vincent squinted in the general direction of the voice. Leaning back against a rib of the canvas wall sat Kunsel. Beside him on the metal bench lay Nanaki.

"What... happened?"

"I was going to ask you the same thing. And for our sake as much as yours, I recommend against any sudden moves."

Vincent thought a moment before giving a brief nod.

"So, what did you find?"

"Memories best left forgotten."

"Try again. This time without the Turk non-answer." Kunsel leaned forward until his face hovered over Vincent's. "I found a town frozen in time, a trail of weapons that points to the SOLDIER program, and you unconscious in a pool of blood with no apparent injuries. What. The. Hell. Happened?"

For several seconds, Vincent did nothing except blink. "May I sit up?"

Kunsel returned to a more comfortable seated position, giving Vincent room to do so as well. Slowly.

"There was a woman. She said they were going to raise up a new god of destruction that would 'bathe the world in blood.'"

"Great." Kunsel wilted. "And no points for guessing who."

"Perhaps." Taking great care to keep his actions slow and obvious, Vincent slid a thin box from a pocket near his holster. "These data disks may provide more information."

"If we can find a computer that can read them. I haven't seen that format since I was a kid."

Nanaki scratched his chin with a hind foot. "There should be one in Grandfather's study. He collected computers and peripheral devices." He paused for a moment as his ears shrank back. "Largely because he refused to throw any out. I cannot guarantee whatever you find there will work."

"At least it's a start."

7*7*7

Immediately on arriving at Cosmo Canyon, Yuffie, looking more than a little green, darted straight up the stairs.

And right into Tifa.

"Careful!" Tifa grabbed Yuffie's shoulders as the younger girl started to wobble close to the edge. "What happened?"

Yuffie sank to the steps. "Barret's driving happened. I swear he hit every pothole between here and Nibelheim. Oh. Oooo!" She threw her head over the cliff edge and coughed up what was left in her stomach.

Tifa helped Yuffie stand up. "I'll help you get to Aerith."

*7*7*

About half an hour later, Barret and Kunsel met up with Tifa outside Aerith's room.

"Heard Yuffie's sicker 'en she us'ly is. The kid gonna be okay?"

"I'm not sure. Aerith is still with her."

A minute or two later, Aerith stepped out of the door. "Oh good. I want to ask you some question. Um, is Nanaki with you?"

Kunsel shook his head. "He's helping Vincent in the library and said that the smell of Yuffie being sick would probably make him sick."

"Hmm. I'm sure it would. What about you two? How have you been feeling?"

"Wha's that gotta do wi-"

"Anxious." Kunsel shifted his feet as if preparing for an attack. "You think this has something to do with Nibelheim."

Aerith nodded. "Yuffie told me what you saw. It sounds like a concentration of negative energy, which would have an effect on your bodies."

"Huh? Bu' me an' Yuffie never e'en go' close t' the front gate. An' smartass here crawled all over the damn place. So why ain't he sick?"

"Maybe the mako in my system? Or that I've got some of that negative energy bonded to me DNA. Could be both."

"I think it has more to do with getting motion sick on top of the exposure." Any hint of good humor vanished from Aerith's face as she waved her finger under Barret's chin. "Which might not have been so bad if you'd driven more carefully. Or at least stopped to rest a couple times. I know Yuffie tends toward theatrics, but couldn't you see how sick she was?"

As Barret sputtered and stammered, Kunsel came to his rescue.

"That might be my fault. I told him to get back here as fast as possible."

"Hmm. Well, I suppose I can understand that, but you still should have used some common sense." Aerith breezed past toward the stairs. "She's going to be alright, but right now she's very dehydrated, so I'm going to get her some broth. Hopefully she'll be able to keep it down."

Barret waited until her footsteps faded before slumping forward in a sigh. "Wha' is it 'bout ya gals ge'in' all scary after marryin'?"

Having been ignored up until then, Tifa took a second to respond. "I don't know? Ah! I almost forgot. Reeve called just before you arrived. He couldn't get a hold of you."

"I saw a lot of downed cell towers on the way up, so I'm not surprised." Kunsel frowned. "But I gave him an update before we left. Did something happen?"

"He didn't say."

Kunsel turned toward the stairs. "I better call him."

Barret started to follow before looking back at Tifa. "How ya been holdin' up? Li'l Spiky doin' okay an' all?"

"Yeah, he's fine." Tifa smiled. "Still recovering a bit, but they're both back on their feet."

"Good. Good. Marlene wanted me ta say 'hi' for her an' let ya know she wants ya ta come back real soon. The chocobo an' porkipine, too."

Tifa's smile widened. "I miss her, too. Hopefully, we'll be back in a few days. We're still working on how to get the word out about the treatment."

"Yeah, good luck wi' that. Startin' ta think there aren' any left." He lowered his voice to a mutter. "Meby for the best if they are."

For a moment, Tifa's eyes pinched. Whatever rebuttal she had in mind passed as her entire body deflated.

"Maybe you're right."

"Eh? Wasn' 'spectin' ta hear tha' from ya. There som'in' ya not tellin' me?"

Tifa shrugged. "Not really, just... Cloud and Zack almost died. They're fine now, but the thought of anyone else having to go through that... and Kunsel _will_..."

"Ah hell. Hey, we've all done dang'rous stuff an' pulled through. An' there're folks who study this sorta thin' here, ain't there? Meby they'll fig're out some way o' makin' it safer."

When Tifa didn't do more than glance up, Barret grabbed her shoulder with his human hand. "It's gonna be okay."

*7*7*

 _Soul wrought of terra corrupt,_

 _Quelling Impurity,_

 _Purging the stream_

 _To beckon forth the ultimate fate_

 _Behold mighty Chaos,_

 _Omega's squire to the lofty heavens._

Kunsel stared over Vincent's shoulder at the words Dr. Valentine had transcribed from the Ancient tablet. A cold shiver crawled over his skin. This information could be their salvation or their doom.

* * *

 _So sorry this took so long! Life has... happened. A lot. Mostly in the form of gardening and a four-year-old who loves to spend time with her auntie. Anyway, if anyone's still reading this, hope this chapter's worth the wait. And hopefully I'll be able to get the next chapter out much sooner._


	42. Herald

**Chapter 42 - Herald**

Later that afternoon, everyone gathered in the observatory to go over the data. At least the entries that weren't strangely personal for a scientific diary.

"Wha' the #$&* di' I jes read?"

Yuffie squinted with her nose pressed against her copy. "Yeah. Is Omega supposed to be a good guy or not?"

Kunsel sighed. "Pretty sure that's the wrong question."

Aerith hummed as she flipped through several pages. "There are some things that don't make sense. Why would the planet need something to return the lifestream to the universe? And why would it need to create something else to prolong that fate?"

"And what's 'terra corrupt' supposed to be?" Zack scowled. "It sounds like Jenova except for the part where it's part of the planet's life cycle."

"So we jes got us a lot more questi'ns an' no answers."

"Bad memories."

Everyone turned toward Cloud. Just as he started to sink behind his print-out of the journal, Nanaki spoke.

"That makes sense. Grandfather said the lifestream is memories and spirit energy. If there are memories that refuse to flow with the rest, the planet might consider them contaminants."

"Stagnant pools." Zack's nose wrinkled. "Yeah, those would stink."

"But I still don't get it! So Chaos is born of bad memories and leads the rest of the Lifestream to Omega, which acts like a boat or something leaving a dead planet behind. That doesn't answer Aerith's question or what any of this has to do with the creepy lady Vinny ran into."

Vincent raised an eyebrow at Yuffie but otherwise didn't comment.

Kunsel nearly toppled his chair, and several other pieces of furniture, as he grabbed his momentarily abandoned copy. "'Quelling'... 'Purging'... 'ultimate fate'..." He tore to the last page. "'Destiny of destruction'... Oh **hell**."

"I'm still jes as confused as the kid here, but tha' can't be good."

"I think whoever's involved here is trying to wake up Chaos."

Only four pairs of ears in the room picked up Vincent's sudden intake of breath.

"Wha' kinda crazy..."

"This meeting is adjourned." Vincent swept through the room, only stopping once he opened the door, the evening sun wreathing him in flickering light. "Zack, Cloud, Kunsel, a moment."

Despite the Yuffie and Barret's vocal, and increasingly colorful, protests, no one else followed Vincent out to the most isolated patch of cliff accessible that side of the Sealed Cave.

Vincent stared into the fading sunset, his cloak flapping like blood-soaked wings. "Chaos sleeps within me."

"Say what?!" Zack took a step forward before he realized he was the only one acting even slightly shocked. "You _knew_?"

Kunsel shrugged. "I've suspected something like that for a while."

"Why else would he bring us out here?"

"I... Okay, that's a good point." Zack spun back around at Vincent. " _You've_ got a lot more explaining to do."

Vincent dipped his head as acknowledgement. "I do not know the details, but I now suspect that Lucrecia bound both Chaos and the protomateria to my body in an effort to save my life."

Ignoring Kunsel's muttered comment about phoenix down, Zack grinned. "So we've got Chaos and the protomateria. That's great!"

"Had." Vincent gripped the tear in his shirt with his clawed gauntlet. "Chaos stirs. I fear the enemy now has the advantage."

Kunsel's usual calm cracked in a spectacular string of expletives that would have made Cid proud. "You couldn't have mentioned this earlier?"

"I have no recollection of how the battle in Shinra Manor ended and was unaware of the existence of the protomateria until an hour ago."

"And we aren't going to get anywhere by fighting." Zack stood between his friends, glancing at each of them in turn. "Right?"

Kunsel nodded as he sank onto a rock. He kneaded his forehead. "Yeah. Yeah. We just have to figure out where the protomateria was taken and get it back. Easy."

"That is not why I brought you here."

Three pairs of glowing eyes stared at Vincent.

"While attempting to retrieve the protomateria is prudent, the risk that our enemy will use it or that I lose control of Chaos in the meantime is far too great. Therefore, I request that I be sealed away with you three standing guard should Chaos attempt to escape."

For a moment, they fell into thoughtful silence. Kunsel started massaging his entire face.

"This is a bad idea."

Zack nodded. "Yeah. I mean, I get it, but I don't like the idea of locking up a friend. Or anyone else, really."

Cloud's face darkened. "A few people, maybe."

"Not that." Kunsel started to roll his eyes but winced and went back to massaging his head. "Well, yeah, that, too. But it just doesn't make sense to pull four of our strongest fighters when going against an unknown enemy. Though, uh, it _is_ quite an honor to be considered capable of fighting Chaos."

Slowly, Zack slid closer. "You okay?"

"Yea... No. Headache. I think the, uh, 'negative energy' around Nibelheim might be affecting me more than I thought."

"Better have Aerith take a look at you." Zack turned to look Vincent straight in the eye. "And we're going to get the protomateria back. _Before_ Chaos gets loose."

"And if you can't?"

Zack pulled his shoulders back a little further. "We'll figure something out. We always do."

In the background, Cloud stared at some point far beyond the horizon. "If I had stayed, maybe things would have turned out better." He shifted his focus to Vincent. "If you stay, maybe we can help keep Chaos under control."

Zack dropped his right fist into his left palm. "Yeah! Chaos doesn't stand a chance against all of us."

Kunsel stood. "I'm gonna find Aerith."

*7*7*

A few minutes later, Cloud caught up with Tifa just outside the Shildra Inn. She jumped at his sudden appearance.

"Oh! Cloud, what did Vincent want to talk about?"

"Vincent's going to tell everyone in the morning. Right now, I..." Cloud rubbed the back of his head. A nervous gesture he obviously picked up from Zack, though because of proximity or Jenova cells, Tifa no longer wished to know. "Have you eaten yet?"

Tifa shook her head. "I was just about to. You want to join me?"

"Yeah, but not here. There's a spot Aerith helped me find so... if you want..."

"Sure." She glanced down at his empty hands. "Are we going to bring something or is it already set up?"

"Yeah. I mean... Inside." He nearly took the door off its hinges in his haste.

Tifa giggled. She kept repressing the bubbling laughter all the way to a grassy ledge under one of Cosmo Canyon's many cliffs. Tiny rivulets of water trickled down into a narrow channel that separated the ledge from thorny brambles shading them from the evening sun.

"It's private."

Cloud froze half bent over, the basket hanging barely an inch from the ground. "You want to go back?"

"No! Not at all." She shook her head enough to loosen a few strands of hair from behind her ear. "I think it's the perfect spot."

He relaxed a little, but kept his eyes on her the entire time he fumbled with the blanket.

She pushed the wayward strands back behind her ear. "Is there something on my face?"

"No." He pulled his eyes away from her, blushing. "Just... your hair's getting longer."

"Oh, yeah. I'll be able to wear that pin you gave me soon." She knelt to help him set up the picnic.

"I'd like to see that."

They sat on either side of the picnic blanket in silence for a long time, just eating sandwiches and watching the sky darken. Just that comfortable silence until Cloud buried his head in his knees.

"Cloud?" She reached for him across the blanket. "Cloud, are you all right?"

"I'm an idiot."

"What?"

He hit the back of his head against the cliff and sighed. "This was supposed to be fun and... I have no idea what to do."

She smiled and dropped her hand over his. "We don't have to do anything. Just being here... It's nice."

"Nice?"

"Yeah. It's quiet and peaceful." She leaned back against the cliff, her eyes half closed. "With everything that's been happening, everything that's about to happen, this is the best thing you could've done for me. Thank you, Cloud."

He couldn't say a word. All he could do was stare at her. Her drooping eyelids shadowing dark pools he could feel himself falling into. The faint red of her cheeks. The tiny drop of mayonnaise clinging just below her lips.

He raised his free hand. "Ti..." He cleared his throat and internally cursed his voice for cracking for the first time since boot camp. "Tifa. There's something, uh, there..."

"Huh?" She pulled her hand away from his to wipe up the bit of mayonnaise. With a small hum, she licked it off her finger.

Cloud felt his entire face burst into flames.

"T-Tifa? Can I... sit next to you?"

Her lips curled up a little more and his internal organs did an entire gymnastic routine. "Of course."

Cloud hopped over the picnic blanket in a blink. Tifa's laughter was music to his ears as slid down beside her.

She snuggled right into his shoulder. "You know, you didn't have to put the blanket between us."

"I wouldn't be able to reach the food from here."

More musical laughter as she sank deeper into his side. "Cloud, thank you."

"I should be thanking you. For everything."

She hummed and shifted, trying to get comfortable against the hard cliff rocks and his harder muscles. He could feel her eyes close through his knit vest.

Cloud stared up at the stars. "It's getting late."

She just hummed, one arm wrapped around his stomach.

"We should head back."

"Not yet. I want to stay like this a little longer."

She'd said something similar what felt like a lifetime ago.

Cloud's skin tingled at the memory. "It's going to get cold soon."

"We have a blanket this time."

"Right." He fumbled with the edge of the cloth, trying to pull it over them without dumping what remained of their meal in the water.

Tifa disentangled herself just enough to help. Both covered, they drifted off into the first peaceful sleep either had for weeks.

* * *

 _Well, that took a while to write. Sorry 'bout that. Hopefully this was worth the wait, and that I still have people reading this. This last scene is mostly fluff, but Cloud and Tifa's relationship hasn't been going much of anywhere since... Chapter 3? Yeah. If they didn't go off on their own, someone else would've locked them in a closet._


End file.
